The Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation said, Sunday evening, "The corporation cannot finance the production of the Eurovision Song Contest from its budget, which is completely transparent and covers a wide range of activities on three television channels, nine radio stations and digital activity. The corporation is legally obligated to invest in content and productions throughout the year. The diversion of these funds is the cancellation of productions and the dismissal of employees for three days of Eurovision production."
Responding to claims by sources close to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that there was money in the IPBC budget, a corporation statement continued, "Almost every country that has received the right to host the Eurovision Song Contest has participated in its budget and has earned a lot of money from the tourism of thousands of visitors and from global exposure. All our attempts to find a common solution have been ignored and the government's decision is unequivocal - giving up the right to host the competition."