Iraq was home to the first television station in the Middle East, which began during the 1950s. As part of a plan to help Iraq modernize, English telecommunications company Pye Limited built and commissioned a television broadcast station in the capital city of Baghdad. Following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, the Iraqi state media collapsed. In June 2004, a Communications and Media Commission was set up to approve and grant license for all the country's media. By 2011, Iraq was the headquarters of 49 free-to-air satellite channels, one of the highest numbers in the region. Until 2003, satellite dishes were banned in Iraq, and there was a limited number of national terrestrial stations. After 2003, the sale of satellite dishes surged, and free-to-air channels entered the market. There a