Television in Iraq

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Iraq was home to the first television station in the Middle East, which began during the 1950s. As part of a plan to help Iraq modernize, British telecommunications company Pye Limited built and commissioned a television broadcast station in the capital city of Baghdad.^[1] Following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, the Iraqi state media collapsed. In June 2004, a Communications and Media Commission was set up to approve and grant license for all the country's media.^[2] By 2011, Iraq was the headquarters of 49 free-to-air satellite channels, one of the highest numbers in the region.^[2] Until 2003, satellite dishes were banned in Iraq, and there was a limited number of national terrestrial stations.^[2] After 2003, the sale of satellite dishes surged, and free-to-air channels entered the market.^[2] There are 17 terrestrial channels, of which one is funded by the US government through the U.S. Agency for Global Media (Alhurra-Iraq), and seven are owned by the state broadcaster Iraqi Media Network.^[2] In March 2011, Al Jazeera was granted rights to resume operations after being banned in 2004.^[2] Plans were established to set up a free-media zone based in Baghdad, the Baghdad Media City, by the end of 2014.^[2]