ABSTRACT
The postrevolution Iranian state maintains the practice of the prerevolution state in monopolizing the legacy media to consolidate power. Broadcasting remained the monopoly of the state until the arrival of 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 explains the media ecosystem in the Islamic Republic of Iran to place the arrival of streaming services in their proper context. It argues that although the state has started to lose its monopoly, it is using state broadcasting entities to maintain its ideological control while allowing semiprivate entities to monetize the burgeoning commercial streaming services.
