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DE RUEHDIR #0498/01 3221258
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 181258Z NOV 09
FM RPO DUBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0633
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHDIR/RPO DUBAI 0634

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RPO DUBAI 000498 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  11/18/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PROP IR
SUBJECT: IRAN: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED 
 
DUBAI 00000498  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Alan Eyre, Director, Iran Regional Presence 
Office, Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
¶1. (C) Summary: The IRIG has for some time considered Western 
media -- both press and entertainment -- as part of the "soft 
war" it claims is being waged against it.  Despite these claims, 
and laws declaring satellite receivers illegal, the IRIG has 
tolerated a Western media presence in the country and has rarely 
moved seriously to stem the growing number of satellite 
receivers in the country.  There are recent indications, 
however, that IRIG authorities are increasingly alarmed by the 
popularity of BBC Persian and two commercial, satellite 
broadcasters offering Farsi-language entertainment programming. 
Implicit in this alarm is a fear that state-controlled 
broadcaster IRIB is losing the battle for Iranian viewers. End 
summary 
 
 
 
Fourth Estate/Fifth Column 
 
---------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2. (C) Iranian officials have complained of what they describe 
as "media terrorism," "press wars" and "cultural aggression" in 
depicting the Western press and entertainment industry as an 
element in the ongoing "soft war" against Iran.  Following the 
presidential elections, the IRIG imposed further restrictions on 
Western journalists and news outlets in the country.  According 
to our press contacts, obtaining an Iranian visa has become 
nearly impossible and they are subject to greater scrutiny by 
the Ministry of Intelligence and Security.   Many foreign news 
outlets have scaled back or ended their presence in the country 
for the security of their reporters. 
 
 
 
¶3. (C) While those measures were intended by the IRIG to limit 
the news flowing out of Iran -- in the IRIG's eyes, stopping the 
distortion of Iran's policies and "falsehoods" about events in 
the country-- Iranian officials seem increasingly worried about 
the popularity of BBC Persian and two commercial, Farsi-language 
entertainment channels that are broadcasting into the country. 
In November 14 comments to a conference in Iran, IRIB Deputy 
Director Ali Darabi said that about 40 percent of Iranian 
households have satellite receivers, doubling in the past year, 
and that the trend was worrisome.  According to press reports, 
Darabi said that satellite networks were an attempt by the 
"Global Arrogance" to undermine Iranian culture and weaken the 
nation, in recognition that it could not bring down the Islamic 
Republic through military means.  Darabi also implied that the 
IRIG had grudgingly accepted the prevalence of  satellite 
receivers, saying that the law prohibited all but certain 
"elites" from having satellite dishes; therefore, 40 percent of 
Iranians were now members of the elite.  (Note: According to 
IRPO media contacts and other sources, the percentage of Iranian 
households having satellite receivers may be as high as 65 
percent.) 
 
 
 
¶4. (C) Iranian officials have singled out BBC Persian for 
criticism as a propaganda outlet since the service began.  In 
October, Iranian officials held a conference on the use of the 
foreign  media in psychological warfare, with much of the 
conference devoted to BBC Persian and to a lesser extent VOA. 
With its staff drawn mainly from Iranian journalists who 
recently were living in Iran, and its high-quality production, 
BBC Persian has attracted an audience, especially following the 
election, at IRIB's expense.  A BBC Persian contact told us it 
had not conducted extensive viewership surveys yet, but it had 
heard from its sources in Iran that IRIB was losing viewers, 
with the loss attributed to BBC Persian, VOA and a general 
boycott of the network after the presidential elections.  There 
are some press reports that IRIB's viewership has declined by 40 
percent since June.   (Note: We have not seen any ratings data 
that would confirm those reports.  Many of our Iranian contacts 
regularly note that BBC Persian is superior to VOA for its 
objectivity and its more professional production.) 
 
 
 
Entertainment with Malign Intent 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶5. (C) Farsi1, a joint venture between News Corporation and 
 
DUBAI 00000498  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Afghanistan's Moby Media, began broadcasting entertainment, 
including many US and other Western programs dubbed into Farsi, 
into Iran in August.  Similarly, MBC Persian, which started in 
2008, broadcasts Western movies with Persian subtitles into 
Iran.  Contacts at both channels have told us they are very 
pleased with the channels' ratings.  Farsi1 executives contended 
it had already become the number 1 foreign-based channel in 
Iran, and believe their viewers were coming primarily from IRIB. 
 The IRIG was sufficiently worried by their programming, which 
includes Latin American and Korean serials in addition to 
American shows and movies, that it was attempting to jam their 
broadcasts using microwave jammers around Tehran.  The IRIG also 
made it illegal to provide dubbing for broadcasters outside Iran 
in an attempt to deprive Farsi1 of the talent needed to produce 
its Farsi voiceovers. 
 
 
 
¶6. (C) Farsi1 executives and other IRPO contacts, while noting 
the availability of BBC Persian and other news via satellite, 
said most Iranians wanted entertainment and this -- plus the 
availability of cheap satellite dishes in Iran -- was driving 
satellite penetration and the departure of IRIB's audience. 
Farsi1 contacts said its audience spiked during Ramadan, when 
Iranians tend to watch more television. 
 
 
 
¶7. (C) IRIB's response has been to try to increase the quantity 
and quality of its entertainment to counter this competition for 
the eyes and ears of the Iranian public, and press reports 
indicated it may add dedicated sports, childrens, and film 
channels at a cost of several hundred million dollars added to 
IRIB's estimated USD 800 million budget.   Iranian officials 
have criticized IRIB's performance in countering this "threat" 
thus far.   For example, former Majlis Speaker Gholam Haddad 
Adel told the October conference on foreign media as 
psychological warfare that BBC Persian had done a better job 
covering celebrations of the Iranian New Year than IRIB earlier 
this year, and if that were the case, "then we have lost the 
war." 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
---------- 
 
 
 
¶8. (C) Although, IRIB remains the leading network in Iran and 
the primary source of news and entertainment  for most Iranians, 
Iranian officials are obviously wary of the growing influence of 
well-produced, Farsi-language satellite broadcasts from abroad 
in what they perceive as war by other means.   The availability 
of alternative entertainment and news programs at a time of open 
opposition to the government, and by extension the state 
broadcaster, has no doubt further exacerbated the IRIG's 
concerns over the influx of" foreign" ideas and fears of "soft 
overthrow."  The pointed criticism of IRIB that has followed 
suggests that some IRIG officials believe that IRIB's management 
is failing to counter these threats, although the Supreme Leader 
recently re-appointed IRIB Director Ezzatollah Zarghami for 
another five-year term.  Despite the IRIG's concerns that these 
broadcasts are meant to turn Iranians against their government, 
we believe that most Iranians are simply looking for 
entertainment, and to a lesser degree objective reporting, they 
can't get at home in switching the channel to BBC Persian, 
Farsi1 or MBC Persian. 
EYRE