IRIB Budget Doubles

The parliament voted on Sunday to double the budget allocated to Iran’s state-owned media corporation, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

The decision was made as part of the parliament’s review of the sixth five-year development plan (2016-21), which was earlier proposed by the government early December.

The development plans outline government strategies in its budget planning for the next five years. The approval of the Sixth Plan has already been delayed, IRNA reported.

As per the parliament’s decision, the IRIB will receive 0.7% of the government’s general budget over the next five years. This will allow the state-owned media organization to get 30 trillion rials (about $750 million) of cash to spend annually throughout the sixth plan.

IRIB is among the largest media organizations in Asia-Pacific region. It is independent of the government and its head is appointed directly by the Leader of Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

With 13,000 employees and branches in 20 countries, including France, Belgium, Malaysia, Lebanon, the UK and the US, IRIB offers both domestic and foreign radio and television services, managing 12 domestic television channels, four international television news channels, six satellite television channels and 30 provincial television channels.