Studies have previously found that barely a third of Israelis are interested in sports.
For years, the general lack of interest has stuck Israeli sports in the same place.
A limited talent pool, few achievements and a public that looks at sports with a losing, pessimistic and critical view.
The Olympics and World Cups, which distill all the beauty of sports culture onto the screen, are the opportunity to break the third barrier.
And really, an average of 35.5 percent viewership in the final match between Argentina and France (44.5 during the penalties) is a crazy figure for the local television market, certainly when the Israeli national team is not involved, when the game started at 5:00 PM and when about an hour of it was boring.
But 35.5 percent is still a third, which is more or less the maximum of Israelis that a global sports event speaks to.
Merge with fans.
Uri Levy with Iranian fans,
Because in Israel there is no sports heritage that is passed down from generation to generation.
Everything is a neighborhood, amateurism, without planning, investment, creativity or land culture.
This is reflected in the sensational media, which heats up the puddles of the "Sahla" and encourages the preservation of the situation in order to continue criticizing the managers, and killing the players, and dismantling the fans, and burning the product that it itself broadcasts.
That is why the games of the Israeli national team do not constitute an overwhelming national event.
The Champions is soccer for connoisseurs, and the local league is a joke that doesn't count in the rating tables.
There were times when Maccabi Tel Aviv's broadcasts on Channel One caused the country to shut down on Thursday evenings, but today sports in Israel do not generate double-digit viewing figures, and the broadcast channels gave up on it a long time ago - and rightly so.
The local league is a joke that doesn't count in the rating tables.
Flares on the grass during the Tel Aviv derby,
The World Cup final overwhelms the potential, which is significant.
Because sports, unlike series and programs, is one of the last contents (just like reality) that you have to watch live - otherwise you lose the fun and relevance.
In the current World Cup, joint viewing highlighted the delay problems.
We received all the possible spoilers: poochs with results preceded the broadcast, shouts over the wall half a minute before the goal created neighbor disputes.
But the most excessive delay was that of Amichai Spiegler, who needed 24 minutes to realize that the goalkeeper of the Moroccan national team was not playing, and that he was broadcasting his substitute.
How do you do it right?
Instead of broadcasting the World Cup final, Yoram Arbel was thrown out of a frog costume on Motzash as part of "The Masked Singer". It was a World Cup without Arbel, and without Rami Weitz and Shaggy Cohen, and their absence was not felt. In Qatar 2022, the transformation was complete: the old generation disappeared, and a new one took its place. And yet, the banality of choosing Eli Ohana, Alon Hazan and Osherat my eyes to the experienced and established commentators, because in terms of the scope of knowledge and fondness for clichés - they reminded the old generation and the Danish Neumani.
The banality of the selection of Eli Ohana, Alon Hazan and Osharat my eyes for the experienced and established commentators was annoying.
Ohana,
The number of women on the broadcasts decreased as the games entered the decisive stages, and it's a shame.
Eini made a leap in her abilities, Karin Sandel recorded a reasonable debut, and Nadine Abu Laban was crowned the discovery of the games - both as a commentator, and as a talent who provided color articles and viral content.
It is impossible to ignore Iti Schechter, an active soccer player who provided the appearance of a mixed commentator who hugs players, delivers messages and sings "Hope" on the grass. Amit Levintel stood out above the rest in terms of the added value of his commentary, and Tal Berman was the right man in the right place, when he led a broadcast Hai continues in a pleasant and intelligent way. The excellent field reporters, Uri Levy and Oren Yosofovitz, also contributed a lot, merged with fans, mediated the messages and the atmosphere and created spectacular moments - without making themselves the center of the story.
feeds on provocation.
Verdi, photo: screenshot
As an opposite example, it is easy to point to Ohad Hamu, a News 12 messenger, who gets swept up in fruitless arguments with Arab fans about the existence of the State of Israel - yes or no;
Or Moab Vardi, who attacked fans with the questions "I'm from Israel, what do you think?", fed by the provocation he made against Maluma and was looking for another easy prey.
The hug that Iran fans gave to Uri Levy, in a report that became an international sensation, is an example of what you get when you don't look for provocations.
He justified every shekel
The month of broadcasts from Qatar justified the inflated production costs of Kaan, which were estimated at 15 million shekels.
It was interesting, enriching and full of passion, and did not underestimate the viewer;
And close to zero glitches - a historic achievement for a channel founded on the ruins of the Palestinian Broadcasting Authority.
For the purpose of the mission, 67 employees were flown to Qatar in several shifts.
The inflated delegation and the excessive expenses will fuel the opponents of public broadcasting, Shlomo Karai style, but in conclusion - the 2022 World Cup was one of the most successful broadcasts in the corporation's history.
The Israelis consumed the World Cup until they wore out like the sole of Michael Shemesh's shoe, and here they knew how to create an accessible and shared experience around football - an achievement that is not taken for granted.
At the same time, Network 13 bought a week of broadcasts and showed an opposite way to broadcast sports.
They gave up a preliminary studio, cut to commercials at the wrong moments, didn't understand the event, broadcast only big teams (even when the game didn't decide anything) and as a result they were degraded in the ratings.
It's better that you stay in reality.
Broadcasts for everyone
The World Cup final will bring huge ratings in any case, but 35.5 percent show that the corporation did a good job in making the event accessible.
Football is entertainment for the masses and that's how it should be broadcast.
A colorful carnival with human drama.
People like dramas like Uri Ozan likes to talk about football players' birth dates.
The Israeli national team, we bet, will keep the tradition and stay outside in the next World Cup as well, photo: Alan Shiver
A few years ago, the Folkman Commission seriously discussed the importance of free sports broadcasting.
If events such as the World Cup, national team matches or local leagues must be open and free to the general public.
The World Cup showed that it is.
Think what we would get if Sport 1 or the Sports Channel broadcast the last month on closed channels and for a fee.
48 teams will participate in the next World Cup - the Israeli team, we bet, will keep the tradition and stay out.
So that someday we can justify an appearance in the World Cup - it is important that the sports broadcasts receive such a successful kick of encouragement.
Because here, Israelis can also be drawn en masse to football and consume it by the millions.
This may be the beginning of a wonderful friendship between the State of Israel and a normative sports culture, like in other nations.
On the other hand, as early as next week we will return to throwing planks at each other in the parking lot of the Mosheva Stadium, in the corner near the pile of dung of the police horses.
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