The BBC’s Persian TV is reaching record audiences in its core market of Iran, despite persistent jamming of its satellite signal and harassment of staff and families working on the service.
According to a new survey, published by the BBC’s in-house newsletter Ariel, puts audiences at a high watermark of 11.4 million. This represents an increase of 90% on last year’s figure of 6 million.
“It is clear that crude attempts to discredit our journalism are failing and ordinary Iranians are increasingly turning to the BBC for independent news they can trust,” said World Service director Peter Horrocks.
Audiences have witnessed a similar climb in 2012, when the number of viewers rose by 85% from 3.1 million to 6 million.
