With the start of the coming Persian year on March 21, the budget of Iran's state broadcaster will be increased by around 50% to €35 million ($36m).

However, this hike comes amid an ongoing economic crisis in Iran, where the population is becoming poorer by the day due to rampant inflation.

According to a report by the parliamentary research center, the share of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, or IRIB, in the total government budget will be higher than the budgets of ten ministries together.

In Iran, media are controlled by the state according to the constitution and private media are not permitted.

The broadcaster is under the authority of religious and political leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who appoints its head directly.

"Ayatollah Khamenei has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with IRIB's performance in recent years," Abdollah Abdi, the founder and director of Abdi Media, an independent media company in Switzerland, told DW. Previously, he had worked for IRIB.

"Khamenei criticizes the broadcaster because the large and highly staffed organization is unable to counter the influence of Persian-language media outside Iran with opposition networks, independent channels and social media," he said.

Despite Iran's strict media control, the state broadcaster has long since lost its sway over public opinion.

"According to the Iranian Students Polling Agency in Tehran, only 12.5% of the population still listen to IRIB news," Abdi says, referring to recent surveys.

"This is a drastic loss of trust compared to 2017, when 51% still followed the news program," he added.

Growing alienation from society

IRIB is in an ongoing crisis due to falling viewing figures in all areas.

Even series and films, which are primarily produced for traditional and religious sections of the population, are falling from favor.

Only 11.5% of the population are still entertained by these IRIB productions.

Despite numerous restrictions and censorship measures, films and series produced with private funds play a much more important social, cultural and political role in Iran. These productions are distributed either on DVDs or disks or are uploaded to digital streaming platforms.

"Cinema and films can be the most effective means of propaganda but also the strongest means against it," the Iranian film critic Mahshid Zamani told DW on the sidelines of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale). Zamani worked for film magazines in Iran in the 1990s before she moved to the US.

"Independent Iranian artists use these distribution tools but they risk their freedom to do so," she added.

A recent example is the film "My Favorite Cake" which was celebrated at the Berlinale 2024. It tells the story of a 70-year-old lonely widow who rediscovers her desire for love.

Since then, not only the directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha have to answer Iran's judiciary for "propaganda against the state" but also the actress Lily Farhadpour.

The three of them are accused of "producing, distributing and reproducing tapes and data carriers with vulgar content and participating in the production of offensive content".

State news monopoly

"For years, IRIB's budget has been massively increased to promote lifestyles, views and values that are in line with the ideology of the Islamic Republic," media consultant Abdi said.

"The state wants to impose its official narratives unchallenged but independent foreign media threaten this news monopoly by providing alternative information and analysis." 

In addition to IRIB, the state also funds news agencies, including the Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency (IRNA), the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) and the Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency (ICANA). Other state organizations in cultural, intelligence and security sectors support the narratives of the state broadcaster.

Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, these organizations have been continuously expanded in order to anchor a new public value system in line with the state ideology.

However, their actual influence on the overly young Iranian population is not only reflected in the recurring protests against the political system, but also in the state broadcaster's current ratings of less than 13%.

Despite such figures, IRIB director Peyman Jebali still claims that over 41% of the population watch the broadcaster's programs.

This article was originally published in German.