The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) is the largest media company in Iran with dozens of media operators in broadcasting, online and print. It operated as the National Iranian Radio and Television until the Iranian revolution of 1979. IRIB is the sole broadcaster allowed to air in Iran. IRIB runs television channels targeting the Iranian population in Iran, a raft of international news stations, and a network of regional television outlets covering all the regions of Iran.
IRIB’s international television channels include Press TV, a news and documentary television channel that broadcasts in English and French; Al-Alam, an Arabic news channel that also operates a website known as Alalam News; Sahar TV, part of Sahar Universal Network, which is a division of IRIB, that broadcasts Azeri, Balkan, Kurdish and Urdu channels; Al Kawthar, a channel in Arabic that airs religious and cultural programs primarily for audiences in the MENA region; HispanTV, a Spanish language channel targeting countries that speak Spanish, mainly in South America; Jam Jam World Network, a television channel airing programs mostly targeted to Iranians who live abroad.
IRIB also runs a vast network of radio channels that serve the Iranian audiences in Iran, and IRIB World Service, the official international broadcast operation of the Iranian government that airs programs in 32 languages. In addition to all those, IRIB produces the Persian-language newspaper Jam-e Jam. According to information from our local experts, IRIB has a staff of 46,000.
Media assets
Television: National– IRIB TV: TV1, TV2, TV3, TV4, TV5, Amoozesh, Quran TV, Namayesh TV, TV Nasim, Ofogh TV, Salamat TV, Nahal TV, DocTV, Varzesh TV, Pooya TV, Tamasha TV, Omid TV, Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN); International– Press TV; Al-Alam, Sahar TV, Al Kawthar, Hispan TV, Jam Jam World, iFilm, Al-Quds TV; Regional-Abadan, East Azerbaijan, Western Azerbaijan, Ardabil. Esfahan, Alborz, Ilam, Bushehr, Southern Korasan, Khorasan Razavi, North Korasan, Persian Gulf, Khuzestan
Radio: National– Tehran Radio, Radio Recitation, Payam, Iran Radio Network, Economics Radio Network, Radio Ava, Goftu Radio Network, Quran Radio Network, Farhang Radio, Saba Radio, Health Radio, Young Radio, Sports Radio, Show Radio, Education Radio; International- Pars Today
Print: Jam-e Jam
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
As a corporation with a monopoly of domestic radio and television services in Iran, IRIB is closely controlled by the government. The company is fully state-owned and members of its governing structures are appointed by state authorities. The head of the company is appointed directly by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The organization has a Supervisory Board whose members are representatives of the executive, legislative, and judiciary bodies, according to Iran’s Constitution. In reality, however, all power rests with IRIB’s head, who is a close ally of the Ayatollah, according to our local experts. In October 2021, as part of a process of consolidation of state media, Payman Jebelli was appointed head of IRIB. Jebelli is known for having close links with Khamenei’s office and key hardliners.
Source of funding and budget
IRIB is funded through a combination of state subsidies and revenues from advertising sales. Although advertising revenues officially account for roughly 50% of the total budget of the station, a significant part of those revenues come from state-run companies. Moreover, the station is supposed to hand over all the ad income to the state authorities.
According to experts in the country and various media reports, the company operates with a yearly budget of nearly US$ 1bn. According to more recent data, IRIB has annual ad revenues worth US$ 560m, much of which are from state-run companies. On top of that, in 2022, it received US$ 200m from the state budget, a sum equal to the total of all salaries of Iran’s government employees. Other government agencies also awarded state funds to the broadcaster’s 2022 budget. In 2023, the broadcaster received some US$ 158m in government funding.
According to media reports, the Iranian government has tripled IRIB’s annual budget for 2025, earmarking IRR 240tn (US$ 480m) for the broadcaster. It is the first time the government has increased the IRIB’s budget by such an amount. The decision is reportedly a result of the influence exerted by the ultraconservative Paydari Party in the Iranian parliament. The budgetary boost is not connected in any way with the IRIB’s audience performance. Data from the broadcaster’s own polling agency found that its audience declined by 57% to 11% in recent years as people in Iran have turned to social media or foreign-based television channels to find news and entertainment.
Editorial independence
IRIB was designed as a state media company with a mission to promote the image and interests of the political regime in Iran. The content produced by all its media outlets is closely monitored and censored. IRIB’s journalists are regularly instructed on what topics to cover and how to cover them, according to experts in the country consulted for this report in 2023 and 2024. IRIB is often referred to as a propaganda channel, “infamous for its explicit censorship of critical debate.” “Its entertainment channels also heavily edit foreign movies and television series to ensure “immorality” is not screened to the public,” according to a recent article in Asia Times.
IRIB’s charter outlines key principles that should guide the company’s editorial coverage. One principle is that IRIB should “welcome criticism.” However, the document doesn’t qualify as a statute guaranteeing the outlet’s editorial independence. All other principles mentioned in the document require IRIB to promote the vision of the Supreme Leader and ensure “the supremacy of Islam” in all of its programs.
No independent assessment/oversight mechanism that would validate the editorial independence of IRIB has been identified.
July 2024