Millions of Iranian viewers had to spend a Monday night without "90," a wildly popular soccer show hosted by Adel Ferdowsipour, who is widely believed to have kept Iranians tuned to a national broadcaster that has been grappling with a serious audience crisis.
Ferdowsipour's debate-oriented program was starkly different from conventional Iranian TV shows, breaking away from common clichés and formalities. The show has uncovered rampant corruption, nepotism, mafias and more in the world of Iranian soccer — topics that might have otherwise remained hidden from the eyes of the common viewer.