It may be difficult for those living in free societies to understand the importance of satellite television to those in the rest of the world.  Satellite television is often people’s only window beyond their own neighborhood experience.  It has been said that if it should come to the decision, one night, of whether to eat, or to keep their satellite dish, a person in Iran would choose their satellite dish.  The cultural importance of this communication medium for entertainment, for news, and for education is unparalleled.  Though forbidden by law by the Iranian government, satellite dishes defiantly envelope the skylines of every major city in Iran, shrouding the fascias of buildings with scatterings of white half dome antennas reaching out to the world.

Petra Broadcasting has been an innovator in Persian satellite broadcasting, continually pushing the envelope both in quality and content.  Flowing from its founding vision almost 20 years ago, Petra has continually brought diversity to Iranian satellite television through educational, Christian religious, and world news programming.   The goal of Petra’s productions is to educate and broaden the worldview of the Iranian landscape, while maintaining the highest standards of broadcast quality for the region, and promoting a Christian worldview.  Petra’s programming has received national recognition from within Iran.  Its program, Cafenet Javenan, was the most watched youth program on television during its broadcast period.

Petra has realized its programming directive for over a decade through regular weekly broadcasts, paving the way for countless other broadcasters to follow suit.  The largest producer of Iranian Christian programming, Petra currently broadcasts over five hours a week of original programming.  In addition, because of its standards of quality and excellence, Petra has been the choice studio for major production houses wishing to translate their work into Farsi for satellite broadcast.  Petra has done translation, voice over, and post-production work into Farsi for major ministry productions including: The Jesus Film Project, Campus Crusade for Christ, Athletes in Action, Media House, and Reasons to Believe to name a few, including editing and full program production for Sat-7—the largest satellite broadcaster in the Middle East, with over 7 million viewers.