This is the text of an email from Mark Thompson to all BBC staff on 14 January 2009. Dear all, I’m very pleased to let you know that today sees the launch of the BBC Persian television service, which will offer BBC news and information to audiences in Iran, Afghanistan and around the world. This is the BBC's second international language television channel, after BBC Arabic and is part of a full multimedia offer which includes BBC Persian radio and the recently relaunched bbcpersian.com. It is funded, like the rest of the BBC World Service, by Grant in Aid from the Foreign Office. Based in Broadcasting House, the channel will cover a broad news agenda including politics, culture, science, business, economics, social affairs and the arts. Anyone in the region with a satellite dish or cable connection, as well as online, will be able to view. Today's launch is the result of close collaboration between colleagues in BBC Global News and the rest of the BBC and I'd like to express my sincere thanks to everyone involved. To watch BBC Persian, please take a look on look Gateway or BBC Around the World. Or via this page on bbcpersian.com. All the best,
Mark Thompson Director-General
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