Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation

The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) had deteriorated in status and function. Public committees found that the deterioration stemmed from a number of factors, including its large number of employees, high salary costs, rigid wage agreements, and the law governing it. The authors of the reports recommended structural changes to the authority and the law.

In July 2013, Minister of Communications Gilad Erdan hired an external consulting firm to examine the future of the IBA. In light of the data, the Landes Committee was established and published its decisions at the beginning of March 2014. According to the agreements reached, the television fee would be cancelled on 1 April 2015, and a new broadcasting entity would be established to replace the IBA.

To formulate the necessary legislation, the Knesset set up a committee (headed by MK Karin Elharar) to discuss the public-broadcasting bill. The committee began its deliberations on 11 June 2014, and quickly conducted a number of meetings to allow the completion of the legislative process by the end of the Knesset session in July. On 9 July, a bill was approved and passed to the Knesset for a second and third reading. The Public Broadcasting Law, which ordered the establishment of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation and the closure of the Broadcasting Authority, was passed on 29 July 2014. According to the new law, one quarter of the employees of the new body would come from the IBA and educational television.

Section 7 of the law describes the corporation's activity:

• (A) The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation will broadcast and provide various types of content visually, audio and written, on TV, on radio and on the Internet.
• (B) The content provided by the Israel Broadcasting Corporation shall be independent and directed to all citizens and residents of the State of Israel, shall reflect and document the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, its values and the heritage of Israel and give fair, equal and balanced expression to the diversity of views and opinions prevalent in the Israeli public.
• (C) The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall provide news content and content in day-to-day matters in a professional, fair, responsible, independent, critical, impartial and reliable manner, with transparency and with the exercise of journalistic judgment and loyalty to the truth and the obligation to report to the public.
• (D) The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation will provide diverse content for children and youth, and will promote the creation of educational content for children and youth.
• (E) The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall provide content addressing the diversity of populations in Israeli society, including broadcasts in the Hebrew language, broadcasts in Arabic to the Arab population in Israel, and broadcasts in other languages prevalent in Israeli society.

In the fulfilment of its functions (as stated in this section), the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation will act:

1. to expand education and knowledge;
2. to promote culture, the original Israeli quality work, and Israeli music;
3. to promote innovation in the fields of broadcast content and distribution and broadcasting technologies.

The corporation's main building in Jerusalem, pictured in June 2023

In September 2014, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation began operations. Eldad Koblenz was appointed head of the corporation in March 2015. The chairman of the board of directors is Gil Omer. On 7 June 2016, Shlomi Abrhm Globrzon was appointed director of the news department. By November 2016, about 600 employees were recruited to the company (mainly managers, finance and technology). The manpower budget allocated for recruitment enabled the recruitment of 912 employees.

In July 2016, Israeli prime minister and communications minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Histadrut chairman Avi Nissenkorn agreed to postpone the dissolution of the IBA until early 2018.

In an additional agreement between Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, it was decided to postpone the launch of the new corporation until 30 April 2017, unless it announced that it was ready to broadcast on 1 January 2017. In December 2016, Netanyahu and Kahlon agreed that the corporation would begin broadcasting on 30 April 2017.

In March 2017, Netanyahu worked to close the IBA in the face of Kahlon's opposition. They reached a compromise in which the new corporation was postponed to 15 May, and the news division would operate as a separate corporation. On 11 May, the Knesset approved the split of the news division; however, on 14 May, the High Court of Justice issued a temporary injunction, delaying the split.

The corporation's construction budget was ₪350 million (US$98.1 million): ₪120 million ($33.6 million) for professional equipment, ₪28 million ($7.8 million) for labor, ₪14 million ($3.9 million) for operations, ₪128 million ($35.8 million) for real estate and $60 million for content acquisition.

Since the IPBC's launch date was scheduled for 30 April 2017, the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was scheduled for broadcast on IPBC's Kan 11. The launch date was postponed in mid-April to 15 May, and the contest was broadcast by the IBA (its last television production and broadcast).

IPBC's application for European Broadcasting Union membership, replacing IBA as Israel's public broadcaster, was being reviewed by the EBU governing bodies and awaiting approval at the EBU's General Assembly.[3] On 6 July 2017, it was announced that an agreement had been signed between the EBU and the IPBC allowing the corporation to participate in EBU events (such as the Eurovision Song Contest) without full membership.[4]

Israel won the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, and therefore earned the right to host the 2019 edition, which eventually took place in Tel Aviv.[5] However, the EBU warned that the pending plan to make the IPBC's news department a separate broadcaster (leaving the IPBC responsible for entertainment programming only) conflicted with rules requiring member broadcasters to handle both news and entertainment programming.[6] On 18 June 2018, as a high-court decision on the split approached, Netanyahu stated that the Israeli government would comply with EBU rules to protect its hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest.[7][8] On 7 December 2018, the EBU General Assembly voted unanimously to approve the IPBC's membership application.[9]

The corporation's 12-member public board determines corporate policy, including overall broadcasting policy, approval of broadcasting schedules and budgets, appointment of the general manager, supervision of management and implementation of policy. The board is also responsible for approving the corporation's organisational structure, employment policy, personnel records, and discussing (and approving) its budget and the CEO's annual work plan.

The appointment of board members is the responsibility of the Minister of Communications. Although board members have a four-year term, the Minister of Communications may (at the recommendation of the Search Committee) allow a member to serve one additional term. The board includes at least six women and at least one Arab member, including the Druze and Circassian populations. On 13 and 16 April 2016, the Minister of Communications and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the members of the board (headed by Gil Omer) on the recommendation of the search committee headed by Justice Ezra Kama.

The corporation's CEO is appointed to its board of directors. A search committee headed by Judge Ezra Kama, former vice president of the Jerusalem District Court, was formed. The CEO is appointed for a four-year term, which may be extended for another term. Their duties include routine management, being the chief editor of broadcasts, scheduled transmissions, and submitting budget proposals and annual work plans. The CEO represents the corporation, signs documents and transactions, and hires employees.

The corporation appointed a temporary general manager, Eldad Koblenz, for up to two years after the start of broadcasting concurrently with the appointment of the CEO. The temporary general manager established the infrastructure required for corporate activity until broadcasting began.

The news division provides content to the corporation's digital, television and radio stations, which also appears on the corporation's website and on Facebook page. A budget of ₪160 million was allocated for the division's establishment (compared to a budget of ₪90 million for each of the commercial news companies), with original plans to employ 450 journalists, photographers and production personnel.

During the establishment of the corporation, it did not have broadcast radio and television channels because the IBA was still in operation. Content consumption in general, and news in particular, was consumed through digital platforms such as VOD, the internet, and mobile phones. The Internet was the IPBC's first distribution channel, in mid-2016.

The digital division has two divisions: a Content Creation Division responsible for content adapted to social networks, and a Products Division responsible for building and operating the digital platforms.

Services provided by the digital division include:

• Website – Contains content articles, videos, digital radio stations and administrative information.
• Mobile app – Android app
• Radio stations – A number of 24/7 digital radio stations, available on the website and with the Android app
• Podcasts
• 2016 Summer Olympics
• Economic game – Presents the state budget.
• Content on social networks