Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided once again to postpone the launch date of the new public service broadcaster.
Les studios de télévision de l’IBA, à Romema
The Prime Minister was finally convinced by his Finance Minister, Moshe Kahlon, that the replacement will not be ready in time. The current broadcaster, the IBA, with three television and eight radio stations, was due to close on September 30th this year to make way for a new corporation.
This overhaul of Israeli public broadcasting was voted by the Israeli government back in May 2014. Introducing the bill at the time, the then Communications Minister Gilad Erdan explained that current public channels, too expensive and shunned by the younger generations, need a new impetus.
This is the second time the launch of the new radio and television broadcasting authority has been postponed: the bill initially provided for the IBA to be closed in March 2015. Given the impossibility of meeting deadlines, that was postponed to September 2016. Now the launch is scheduled between January 1st and April 30th 2017.
Sources: The Times Of Israel, The Jerusalem Post
