Popular satirical news show many be switching channels.
By GREER FAY CASHMANChannel 10(photo credit: screenshot)
Viewers addicted to watching State of the Nation may have to alter their viewing habits.The popular satire show that pokes fun at political figures and makes mincemeat of sacred cows may be moving from Channel 2 to Channel 10. The show does not limit its guests to Israeli personalities.In July 2013, the guest on the receiving end of the wisecracks was US Ambassador Dan Shapiro who was asked by Lior Schlein, the program’s creator and host, whether Google’s acquisition of Waze, the Israeli navigation app, meant that the US would finally be able to find its way to Israel’s capital Jerusalem and move its embassy there.According to a Globes report, Schlein asked Reshet to forgo its option for another season because he wanted to move to Channel 10, which now apparently has sufficient funds to produce the show.The debt-ridden channel was in danger of closing down at the end of 2014 because the Second Broadcasting Authority would not renew its license due to an outstanding debt of NIS 36 million. It managed, however, to raise the required sum at the eleventh hour, and when the SBA still refused to renew the license due to other misdemeanors on the part of Channel 10, Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein ruled that the channel should be allowed to continue broadcasting until after the Knesset elections and the formation of a new government. In very quick succession, the government proposed a bill to this effect and it passed the Knesset with three readings in one day – in an accelerated legislative process.Reshet has produced eight seasons of State of the Nation, which initially got off to a weak start, but quickly picked up and developed a faithful following and consistently high ratings. Some of the outrageous comments made on the show have been widely quoted in the regular print media and on social media.The existing arrangement with Reshet will terminate at the end of the current season.An attempt to get confirmation from Reshet was unsuccessful. When Reshet’s switchboard operator was asked to put the call through to the spokesperson she supplied an email address for questions and said they would be passed to the relevant person.No reply to the questions was forthcoming.
