The Bornanews website said a full and final license has been issued by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance for the new station, which is expected to go on the air in three months.
Bornanews failed to say whether the station was television or radio. But it said the station would be entirely run by the private sector.
That in itself is a change. Until now, the Islamic Republic has maintained a total monopoly on all broadcasting based in Iran, but it has increasingly faced major challenges from foreign-based radio and television stations that it cannot control.
Bornanews said the new license “will give domestic singers a platform and the business of singers based overseas-particularly those in Los Angeles-will increasingly stagnate.”
That, of course, remains to be seen. There are many popular bands in the Islamic Republic. The songs to be broadcast over the new stations will, however, all be subject to government approval, Bornanews said,.
If the station is indeed to be private, then it will require advertising to operate. The advertisers would likely be heavily from distributors that sell music. The government might just be thinking the station will help it track down underground distributors.