Knesset passes controversial television bill, closes plenum until October 28

The Knesset convened for a special session on Tuesday to pass a controversial bill that critics argue is aimed at benefiting the right-wing and pro-government Channel 14.

After the bill passed into law, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) concluded the session by announcing that the next plenum session would occur on October 28, when the legislature returns from its summer recess.

The Knesset’s committees will continue meeting periodically throughout the recess but less frequently than when the Knesset is in session, with the exception of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (FADC), which will continue to meet regularly due to the ongoing war.

The law that passed in the plenum on Tuesday was proposed by Likud MK Ariel Kallner at the behest of Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, also from the Likud. The law increases the number of channels broadcast on Israel’s Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) system, known as Idan Plus.

The system, which has approximately 150,000 users in Israel, requires that consumers purchase a router for approximately NIS 200, but the broadcasts themselves are then free. The service is operated by the Second Authority for Television and Radio, the authority in Israel that regulates and supervises commercial broadcasts.

Prior to the war, Idan Plus included channels 11, 12, 13, and the Knesset TV channel (the Israeli equivalent of CSPAN), as well as numerous radio stations. The law that passed on Tuesday adds four more television channels, which are known legally as “small channels” or “specialized small channels,” defined as channels with a yearly income below NIS 80 million ($21 m.). One of these is Channel 14; the other three are Channel 9 (in Russian), Channel 24 (music), and Hala TV (in Arabic).

Channel 14 to be on the patform

However, while free for consumers, the channels pay annual operational fees of approximately NIS 3 m. ($780,000) each. Idan Plus’s technical operation is considered inefficient and expensive compared to broadcasting of the same channels via digital applications (apps); the Communications Ministry in November initiated parallel legislation to replace it with free app-based television services.

AFTER WAR broke out in October, Karhi requested that in the interim, until Idan Plus is shut down, the four channels be added to it so they can communicate emergency measures and information to more citizens. The communications minister requested that the four channels be exempt from annual fees to Idan Plus, and promised to find a source to cover their debt later.

Channel 14’s management accrued a NIS 6.5 m. debt by May, on top of over NIS 10 m. in fines that it already owed the Second Authority for licensing violations. It requested to be removed from Idan Plus so as not to accrue additional debt, and the request was granted.

The law that passed on Tuesday will bring Channel 14 back onto the platform, while stipulating that the fees of all the channels since the outbreak of the war will be split between the Finance Ministry, KAN (Israel’s national broadcast service), and the Knesset.

In addition, the law stipulates that the Second Authority must shut down Idan Plus by January 31, 2025. The operational cost to shut it down, estimated at NIS 3.5 m., will be split equally between the Finance Ministry, KAN, and the commercial channels that existed on Idan Plus prior to the war – i.e. Channels 12 and 13. The explanation for 12 and 13’s funding is that the channels will save the equivalent sum and more since they will no longer have to pay its annual Idan Plus fee.

Finally, the bill stipulates that the smaller channels (14, 24, 9, and Hala) do not have to provide their broadcasts to Idan Plus for free.

Karhi, alongside Knesset Economy Committee chairman MK David Bitan (Likud), whose committee prepared the bill, explained in the plenum on Tuesday that the legislation was a temporary measure intended to give wartime information access to a broader swath of population. However, members of the opposition argued in the plenum that the bill’s real intention was to give Channel 14, which outspokenly supports the government, more viewers, while forcing KAN and Channels 12 and 13 to shoulder part of the fees.

OPPOSITION CRITICS of the bill pointed out that this law was part of a larger pattern of moves by the government to strengthen it by giving it regulatory passes and even outright benefits. For example, the government promoted and passed a bill at the end of July that extended Channel 14’s status as a “small channel” by a year and a half. The status, which was previously extended in February 2023 by a year and a half and was set to expire in August, will now expire only in February 2026.

While Channel 14’s news programs enjoy relatively high rating numbers that often surpass those of KAN and Channel 13, its status as a “small channel” gives it a series of regulatory passes. For example, ownership and management of the news programs of Channels 12 and 13 must by law be separate from the rest of its broadcasts, while on Channel 14, they may exist under shared ownership and management; Channels 12 and 13 must allocate a percentage of their budgets to creating original content, and Channel 14 does not; and more.

Members of the opposition also pointed out a number of bill proposals by Karhi aimed at harming KAN or attempting to privatize it, and argued that this bill also harmed the public broadcaster, as it forced it to pay for some of the measures included in the bill. Karhi and Bitan responded by arguing that these expenditures would also be offset by KAN saving the fees it would have paid to Idan Plus had the bill not passed.

The law was at first scheduled to reach the plenum floor on Monday, but could only have been brought to the plenum after midnight due to Knesset protocols regarding legislative time frames. It was eventually removed from Monday’s agenda in order to avoid forcing MKs to remain in the plenum late into the night, and was the only item on Tuesday’s agenda.

Opposition members criticized the fact that the Knesset held a plenum session solely to pass the controversial bill. Opposition coordinator MK Merav Ben Ari (Yesh Atid) said that since she joined the Knesset in 2015, a coalition has never passed disputed legislation during a recess.

The opposition was not unified in its position. Yisrael Beytenu’s MKs did not attend the vote, and Bitan argued that this was because they support the bill, as many of their constituents are Russian speakers who watch Channel 9, which benefited from the bill. However, a spokesperson for the party said, in response to a query, that its members were absent because they refused to take part in a “circus,” since the “obvious thing” to do because of the war was to freeze all controversial legislation.

National Unity boycotted the debate, arguing in a statement that the law would “severely damage” competition and equality between the different channels, as well as harm public broadcasting (KAN). The party said it would not encourage by its presence the opening of the plenum during wartime for a controversial bill, and its members instead participated in the planting of a vineyard in Kerem Shalom, near the border with Gaza.

Democrats Party chairman MK Yair Golan criticized the opposition’s conduct, saying in a statement that the opposition was enabling the coalition to pass a “corrupt law of financial benefits to the government’s propaganda channel” without a fight.