BICOM

The Knesset yesterday hurriedly approved bills which will enable Channel Ten and Channel Two to continue broadcasting.

Both channels are key news broadcasters in Israel but have been experiencing continued financial difficulties. Channel Ten had indicated that it would be forced to close by the end of the month. However, a bill which will see the government loan the channel the equivalent of just over £10million to repay its debts and extend its broadcasting licence was approved yesterday. The bill passed three readings in the plenum and a hearing of the Knesset’s Economic Committee all on the same day.

Similarly, Channel Two had announced large cuts to its news programming and the closure of local news broadcasts due to budgetary pressures. Legislation passed yesterday will enable the continuation of local news broadcasts for the next seven months and extend the licences of Channel Two’s broadcasting companies Reshet and Keshet until 2017.

However, Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon told the Knesset plenum, “I think this is a partial solution for the Israeli television market. We need a real reform.”

Another plenum speaker yesterday was Yoram Marciano, who was sworn in as a Labour member of Knesset, replacing Amir Peretz, who left the party to join Hatnuah. In an unusual move, Marciano was sworn in and then proclaimed that he was leaving Labour and pledged support for Benjamin Netanyahu’s candidacy as Prime Minister. Marciano explained that Labour had done “a great injustice” to Peretz.