Since Israel’s current government was formed in 2022, the coalition’s proposed judicial reform has dominated public attention. But in the background, another transformation has been assertively gaining ground: the reform of the Israeli media system.
This week, the Knesset passed a controversial amendment to the Broadcasting Distribution Law by a vote of 54 to 34, potentially marking a turning point in the country’s media structure. Proponents say it will allow Israelis continued access to more channels, while critics warn it may undermine the long-term sustainability of public broadcasting, with potentially harmful effects on Israeli democracy.
Under the new law, commercial and regional television channels broadcasting via the free-to-air Idan Plus platform will have their exemption from transmission fees extended through June 2025, with an option for further extension.
Idan Plus is Israel’s digital terrestrial television system, allowing households to access free channels without subscribing to cable or satellite services. The platform has more than 150,000 users—primarily older adults—and serves as a crucial service for populations with limited access to digital alternatives.
Until now, channels such as Kan 11, Israel’s public broadcaster, were required to pay annual fees of nearly 3 million shekels (about $810,000) to broadcast on Idan Plus. Keshet 12, Reshet 13, and the Knesset Channel were also subject to those fees, but Kan has shouldered the bulk of the cost, even covering debts accumulated by other channels.
Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, a law was passed exempting commercial stations from paying to broadcast on Idan Plus, with the goal of making war-related news and security updates as accessible as possible to the public.
Facilitating a larger conversation
Likud MK Ariel Kallner, who sponsored the original broadcast fee exemption, said at the time: “A diversity of opinions is not just a democratic need, it can also prevent disasters. Today is another step towards increasing the diversity so that people who have Idan Plus will have another few channels on the remote control. There will be diversity in the media, and even opinions that you don't like will be heard.”
The exemption on fees for private channels was set to expire in early 2025, but the new law allows them to continue broadcasting for free. Kan remains responsible for all associated costs.
Among the primary beneficiaries is Channel 14, a broadcaster openly aligned with the right wing and the government, which now joins Idan Plus officially without paying distribution fees. Channel 9 (Russian), Channel 24 (music), and Hala TV (Arabic) will also benefit from the fee exemption.
The law also mandates that the minister of communications present an updated economic analysis before moving forward with a comprehensive regulatory overhaul of the system.
Many see the legal reform as another step toward weakening public media in favor of private and politically aligned outlets. The law was also criticized as a “tailor-made” measure to benefit Channel 14, which has gained popularity since aligning itself with the government’s narrative.
Since 2017, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his Likud party have opposed the public funding of Kan, accusing it of government bias and questioning the need for taxpayer support. Many Netanyahu supporters argue that the public broadcaster serves left-leaning elites rather than the general public.
This stance has intensified in 2025, with Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi promoting not only the withdrawal of state funding from Kan but also the closure of Kan’s children’s channel, Arabic-language channel, and even Army Radio.
Opposition MK Shelly Tal Meron was one of the most vocal critics during the debate. In an exclusive interview with The Media Line, she argued that the legislation forms part of a broader political strategy to dominate the media landscape.
“This legislation is just a small part of what the minister calls ‘reform,’” she said. “I call it a revolution designed to seize control over the free press.”
According to Tal Meron, Communications Minister Karhi bypassed formal government channels after encountering legal resistance, instead using Likud parliamentarians to advance the initiative through private bills.
“It is absurd that the public is funding commercial channels while they attempt to shut down the public broadcaster, which actually pays for the system,” she added.
In response to growing pressure on public broadcasting, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation issued a statement defending its relevance and public support. The statement noted that the corporation was itself formed as part of a reform initiated by Likud after the Israel Broadcasting Authority collapsed.
“Our content receives 2 billion digital views annually, over 1 million radio listeners, and hundreds of thousands of daily TV viewers. We have garnered numerous awards in Israel and abroad, bringing Israel’s voice to the world and honoring the Israeli content industry,” the statement reads. “All recent public opinion polls, including those conducted in recent days, show that a decisive majority of the Israeli public—from both the right and the left—oppose any harm to the corporation and view it as the most trusted media outlet in the country. Delegitimizing its employees and attempting to silence it is unworthy of a democratic state.”
Eliran Hayat, president of the Union of Journalists in Israel, pointed to the asymmetry in the current policy direction. “It’s absurd that Kan, the only broadcaster actually paying, is now forced to carry the costs of private, commercially driven channels,” Hayat told The Media Line.
He warned that the current legislation represents more than just a structural adjustment to the broadcasting system. “What we’re witnessing is not a technical reform—it’s a systematic effort to weaken the bodies that provide oversight and critical journalism,” he said.
As Hayat sees it, the government is deliberately merging legitimate public services, like Idan Plus, with manipulative legislation designed to delegitimize the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. “They are taking something important and beneficial—like public broadcasting—and attaching it to harmful laws that target the corporation,” he said.
“This harms us, both as professionals who work and earn a living in journalism and as citizens who want better tools to make decisions about our lives, our votes, and our future,” he continued.
MK David Bitan, chair of the Knesset’s Economic Affairs Committee and a senior Likud lawmaker, defended the legislation in an interview with The Media Line, rejecting claims that it forms part of a broader political agenda.
“It is not connected to some kind of media reform that needs to come to the Knesset or does not need to come,” he said. “This is a specific law related to the structure of Idan Plus and the fees certain channels were required to pay.”
Bitan explained that the amendment was intended to address a technical issue and to pressure the government into proposing a long-term solution. “We asked the government to bring a comprehensive agreement that would solve this issue once and for all,” he said, adding that if no plan is presented by June, “Idan Plus will return to the situation it was in before the war.”
Responding to criticism from opposition lawmakers over perceived favoritism toward Channel 14, Bitan acknowledged the political tensions but dismissed the concerns. “The opposition focuses on what they call inequality between Channels 12, 13, and 14,” he said. “That’s why we extended the timeframe—to give the government a chance to present a formal bill that addresses those concerns through proper legislation.”
During the parliamentary debate, the opposition, the Ministry of Finance, and various nonprofit organizations raised concerns about the lack of economic data justifying the measure. Kan’s director general, Golan Yochpaz, called on the government to speak plainly: “If the state believes that public news is unnecessary in a democracy, it should say so openly,” he said.
Speaking to The Media Line, Tal Meron issued a direct warning about the risks posed to Israeli democracy by the bill. “This is not a reform—it’s a strategy to silence criticism of the government. Interfering with media content jeopardizes our democracy,” she said.
She also criticized the way that the law was passed as undemocratic.
“You can’t just invent a new communications committee because you failed in the Economic Committee,” she said. “That undermines the very function of the Knesset.”
Even critics of the law acknowledge the importance of maintaining Idan Plus. Tal Meron pointed out that around 160,000 people have access only to Idan Plus and not to any cable channels, including many who are “elderly, immigrants, or economically vulnerable.”
But Tal Meron criticized the law for providing more free access to channels without promoting any technological modernization or on-demand content and without ensuring a sustainable economic model. The Ministry of Communications was given “numerous extensions” to address these issues and chose not to act, she said.
If many Israelis are receptive to the argument that public broadcasting isn’t worth supporting, there’s one argument that might get them to support Kan. “Without the public channel, we might be excluded from Eurovision,” Tal Meron said, characterizing the popular song contest as “a vital tool for showcasing a democratic, liberal, and creative Israel to the world.”
