AV Specialist has launched a new regional version of the magazine covering the Islamic Republic of Iran. The magazine uses much of the same editorial and advertising material that appears in the Middle East edition but the Arabic content is replaced with Farsi content and an additional section provides news and information on technologies and productions specifically relevant to Iran. Local content is managed by Pejman Ghorbani, a young Iranian filmmaker based in Tehran.

The magazine is distributed through the Nashravaran Journalistic Institute in Tehran and is available on subscription - as well as through newsstands and specialist retail outlets in Iran.
“The indigenous film industry in the Islamic Republic of Iran is booming and home-grown programming dominates local cinema and television,” explains publisher Kevan Jones. “Over the last few years we’ve seen a growing interest in our magazine from readers within the Islamic Republic of Iran and our new regional version reflects the importance of this market within the Middle East region.”

Much of the editorial content in this new version has been commissioned from local journalists and is specifically relevant to the region. “For many years Iran has been isolated by language, culture and political intrigue,” says Nima Abu-Wardeh, a well-known media professional in the Middle East and presenter of the BBC’s weekly Middle East Business Report. “Despite this, the Iranian economy is buoyant and the country is playing an increasingly important role in the commercial activity of the Middle East. Equally important, Iran has a well-established culture of cinema and film production that’s hungry for information on the latest video technologies. AV Specialist’s new Farsi-language edition is likely to provide real value to film and TV professionals in the Republic.”
The first issue features several international manufacturers of film and TV production technology keen to expose their products in this fast-growing market. “The television and pro-video markets in Iran represent a significant portion of our revenues in the Middle East but we’ve often found it difficult to communicate with our customers in the Republic,” says Robin Hood from Panasonic Broadcast in the Middle East. “AV Specialist’s new Farsi edition provides us an opportunity to reach our customers and address them in a manner that’s uniquely relevant to them.”

The Nashravaran Journalistic Institute is confident that the latest offering from AV Specialist will be a resounding success in the Iranian market. “AV Specialist is the first and only broadcast and pro-AV magazine to be distributed in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” says Hamid Zahedi, managing director of the Institute. “It provides information that’s just not available through any other source and the fact that the magazine includes Persian content makes it uniquely relevant to our market.”
For US companies, trade with Iran is still off-limits but a powerful ‘anti-sanctions’ lobby has emerged in the US and the publishers are hopeful that the US trade embargo will soon be relaxed. “The US Dept. of Treasury does not prohibit the export of publications or informational material to Iran,” explains Kevan Jones, “and even though the trade embargo remains in place, the Iranian market presents an interesting opportunity for US manufacturers who see free trade as the inevitable outcome of US foreign policy.”
The first copies of the new Farsi-language version appeared in June 2005 but the publishers are planning a major launch to coincide with the Tehran Short Film Festival taking place from 15-20 November.