BBC PERSIAN TELEVISION SERVICE

That this House congratulates the BBC World Service on its successful launch of BBC Persian Television on 14 January 2009, bringing high-quality accurate and impartial news, information and analysis on television from a global perspective to audiences in Iran, Afghanistan and beyond; recognises that the BBC has a distinguished history of broadcasting in Persian over 68 years with audiences that regard it as one of the most trusted, impartial and objective international radio news providers in the Persian-speaking world; applauds the BBC's decision to augment news with programmes on arts, culture, science, technology and sport in order to attract a diverse audience; notes that the channel will offer a vital opportunity for Persian speakers to debate and discuss major global issues; and further notes that in the same month the BBC's first specialist language television channel, BBC Arabic, which has made a substantial impact on the local television news market, was extended from 12 to 24 hours a day offering Arabic speakers round-the-clock news on television to supplement the existing radio and online services.