Dubai: The battle in the electronic media for the 110 million Persian-speaking population in Iran, Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia is heating up with the launch of the newest Persian channel — Zemzemeh, partly-owned by Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp.

Launched by Dubai Studio City-based Broadcast M.E., this is the second channel from the company to go on air following the successful launch of Farsi 1 in 2009. Both channels offer general entertainment with dubbed content brought from the West and censored.

"There are currently 35 television channels vying for the Persian-speaking market in which the viewership is growing," said Zaid Mohseni, CEO of Broadcast M.E. He was speaking to Gulf News on the sidelines of the channel's launch on Tuesday.

Each Iranian household owns 1.4 television sets on average, research shows. Although the market is conservative, it is opening up.

"Since the launch of our first channel in 2009, the Persian-speaking television market has grown, Mohseni added. In 2009, there were some 20 to 30 channels active, while now the number has gone up to at least 35, sharing the $500 million (Dh1.8 billion) advertisement market, of which television channels control about $350 million."

The company will start hiring more people to manage the expansion. It has expanded the studio by 4,000 square feet.

Mohseni said the Iranian market was underserved due to political restrictions. Satellite television channels are banned by the Iranian Government and it is illegal for the 75 million strong population to watch them.

That's why most satellite television channels do not have a physical presence in Iran. Yet, there is a growing viewership for satellite channels from within Iran.

And things could change. "We are very optimistic of the market's growth and the possible liberalisation of the media in Persian-speaking areas," said Mohseni.

His company plans to roll out a number of channels for the same audience as the market gets bigger. "We could launch the next Farsi TV channel later this year followed by another next year," he said. "These will also be in partnership with NewsCorp."

The company is currently buying content, dubbing and repackaging them for a Persian-speaking audience. However, it has plans to develop its own content.

"Although there are challenges, we will initially concentrate on low-budget programmes for the market," he said.

Broadcast M.E. is part of Afghanistan-based Moby Group, which was formed by three brothers — Sa'ad, Ziad and Ja'ahid — and their sister, Wajima Mohseni, following the overthrow of the Taliban regime in 2002.

The group owns two radio and three television channels in Afghanistan and an English magazine, employing more than 1,000.

The Mohseni family earlier migrated to Australia. The fall of the Taliban regime created an opportunity for investors to help redevelop the war-torn country.

Sa'ad was named among Time magazine's 100 most influential personalities this year, for reshaping the cultural and media landscape in Afghanistan.

"Through his ownership of newspaper and TV properties, he has become, without a doubt, the most influential media figure in Afghanistan and plays a big role in shaping public opinion there," Rupert Murdoch, NewsCorp Chairman and CEO, wrote in Time magazine about Sa'ad.

"I was introduced to Sa'ad Mohseni by a mutual friend, and I quickly realised he was worth listening to. In my experience, he's the best-informed person in the world about Afghanistan, which is why we're in business together. He and his brother returned to their home country from Australia after 9/11, partly out of commercial interests, but largely out of patriotism."

The problems faced by Zemzemeh's partner NewsCorp in the UK might not have any impact on the channel in the region. "Our partnership with NewsCorp will continue despite all these and I do not see our operations being affected due to the current issues faced by NewsCorp. It will remain our partners in the new channels that we will launch," Ziad Mohseni said.