Kahlon, whose political future hangs in the balance, does not really want to go along with Netanyahu where public broadcasting is concerned.
By GREER FAY CASHMANIBA logo(photo credit: COURTESY OF IBA)
The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) is constantly introducing new programs and personalities and rerunning old favorites, whereas the yet-to-be launched Israel Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) announced on Monday that it has acquired the archives of Channel One and is having them digitized.Winners of a tender published for this purpose are Drakko Digital Marketing, Gal Kol, Dori Media and Josh Marketing.The four were selected out of seven companies that bid for the tender. The choice was made on the basis of quality and price.The digitization of the archives is the flagship project, of KAN, the IBC call-sign.“We see the archives as a national asset,” said KAN CEO Eldad Koblentz. “Preserving the archive means preserving the history of Israel and we are proud to advance this national project, which represents the heritage of public broadcasting.It is our duty to invest all the resources at our disposal in this project, which in the final analysis will enable the public to have access to high quality content of the best broadcast quality.”It is estimated that the digitization will take three to four years to complete. Each of the four companies has its own specific area of expertise in dealing with developments in the documentation of stills, film and video as well as cataloging.A decision on the future of public broadcasting in Israel has yet to be reached by the special committee appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon. Netanyahu wants to scrap the IBC and rehabilitate the IBA.Kahlon, whose political future hangs in the balance, does not really want to go along with Netanyahu where public broadcasting is concerned. However, he has stated that in the long run, the determining factor will be the costs involved – namely whether it would be more expensive to close down the IBA and allow the IBC to begin broadcasting or to rehabilitate the IBA and abort the IBC.
