Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi on Wednesday distributed to MKs attending the Economy Committee meeting a plan for changes to public broadcasting.
The plan includes a number of steps intended to change the way the Broadcasting Corporation and the public channels function, while placing an emphasis on opening the market to competition and supporting Israeli productions.
Among the main points of the plan are canceling the publicly-funded news and current affairs broadcasts, in order to open the market to competition.
In addition, Channel 11 will be dedicated solely to Israeli creative productions, and a dedicated fund will be set up to support Israeli productions, which will be broadcast on commercial channels as well. Kan 33 will be closed, and the original Arabic-language productions will be integrated into the same Israeli production plan.
The educational channel will continue functioning, and the Corporation will retain five radio stations, Reshet Moreshet, Reshet Gimmel, and Reka (Israel Radio International). Reshet Bet and other radio bands which will be freed up will be offered for sale to national commercial radio stations.
The Corporation's archive will be opened for the public's use, in exchange for payment for operations only. Karhi clarified that no advertisements or hidden advertisements will be permitted in public broadcasts.
The Corporation's budget will be half a billion NIS annually, and it will be dedicated to producing Israeli creations and for the dedicated radio stations only. Karhi is offering respectable termination conditions, similar to the conditions recently offered to legal advisers, including preferential treatment in public service positions.