The State and Streaming Services in Iran: Legacy and Disruptive Media

• In Event: Research Symposium: Session II - Senior Scholar Panel

Abstract

The post-revolution Iranian state maintains the practice of the pre-revolution state in monopolizing the legacy media to consolidate power. Broadcasting remained the monopoly of the state until the arrival of (illegal) satellite television. Satellite TV and later the Internet loosened the grip of the state over means of (mass) communication and the flow of information into and outside the country. This article provides a brief history of broadcasting policy in Iran. It then focuses on the advent of streaming services as a challenge to the state’s media monopoly and how the state has responded to this challenge.

Author

• Mehdi Semati, Northern Illinois University