Iran (MNN)–A new merger at SAT-7 allows the Christian Satellite television ministry to launch its new Farsi-language channel on Monday, December 18.
The Board of Iranian Christian Broadcasting (ICB) announced this week that ICB would become part of SAT-7. As a result, SAT-7’s David Harder says they’re moving toward a becoming a network. “It’s been a dream from the very beginning of SAT-7 to be in the major languages of the region in Arabic, in Farsi and in Turkish, and now to have a full 24-hours designed specifically for that region is extremely important.”
The new channel, SAT-7 Pars (a commonly used term in and around Iran to refer to Persians and things Persian) will offer 20 hours of Farsi Christian programming daily and another four hours a day in Turkish. It’s designed to meet the spiritual needs of people who live in and near Iran.
Having their programs on a dedicated channel, and not buried in the middle of an Arabic channel will significantly increase their audience reach.
The scenario is carefully nurtured in order to produce their programs in a cultural context. “By having a very careful ethos not to talk about politics”, Harder explains, “not to talk about Islam, but instead, to talk about Jesus and the truth of Christianity, has enabled us with our Arabic service to work on the ground, and we’re excited that this is also the case in Iran.”
Persian viewers who have watched Farsi programs on SAT-7 will now need to tune in to Hotbird 6, transponder 157, 11,642 MHz, Horizontal Polarity, 27.5 MSym/sec, FEC 3 / 4 to view SAT-7 Pars, from December 18.
