Drama on your TV: Channel 14 threatens to immediately remove its broadcasts from Partner's broadcasting platform, through which some 220,<> households in Israel are connected.
The channel's drastic step stems from an explosion in negotiations between the parties regarding the amount of payment that the broadcaster will receive in exchange for transmitting its content on the Internet platform. Partner is outraged by the channel's unilateral decision, which they say is intended to exert public pressure on them to capitulate in negotiations.
By law, there is no obligation whatsoever to pay for an Internet broadcast. In fact, the only channels currently receiving payment from television providers for their broadcasts are Keshet and Reshet, thanks to an old temporary order recently canceled by Minister Shlomo Krei.
The Communications Minister's move is intended to directly harm the revenues of channels 12 and 13, which will soon be forced to transfer their broadcasts to Internet broadcasting platforms (Sting, Next, Cellcom, Partner and Perry) free of charge, but at the moment it mainly harms Channel 14, which recently negotiated with the platforms and currently found itself in a dead end and without leverage in talks about the amount of payment it will receive.
The team of the program "The Patriots" on Channel 14, photo: Efrat Eshel
After reaching an agreement on receiving operating fees from the new platform, Free TV, Channel 14 moved on to the stage of threats and actions. According to industry sources, they chose Partner as a scapegoat in order to put pressure on the other suppliers and show their public strength.
Partner said: "Channel 14 threatens to remove its broadcasts unilaterally, with discrimination, after raising demands that do not comply with the provisions of the law. Partner respects the channel and wants its broadcasts for the benefit of its customers, but will not be the channel's victim and will not be conducted under ultimatum and threats. We hope that the channel will see the best interests of its viewers and prevent them from harm."
Now 14 said in response: "The channel will not be available on Partner as of May 10. We are prevented from entering into the details of commercial negotiations with the other platforms."
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