Noa Keeler at the Eurovision final (courtesy of Kan, Israel Broadcasting Corporation and the European Broadcasting Union)
The industry today voiced criticism against the decision of Kan Corporation's management that the selection of the Israeli representative for Eurovision 2024 will return to Keshet 12's "Next Star" program, after the success of Noa Kirel's competition, which was chosen by a committee of the corporation. Critics argue that by doing so, the corporation gives up a flagship and a significant asset that yields the promotion of Israeli creativity, huge ratings, a positive image and media buzz.
The announcement of the decision surprised the industry mainly because of the many positive reverberations caused by Kyrell, who came in a respectable third place and aroused great media interest. In addition, the industry says that the financial cost is negligible compared to the corporation's huge budget and in relation to the many fruits that the corporation gains from the fact that the selection of representatives for Eurovision remains in its hands.
Kan and Keshet previously collaborated for six seasons, culminating in Neta Barzilai winning first place with the song "Toy" following which the Eurovision Song Contest was held in Israel in 2019. "The decision was made, among other things, due to the heavy costs of financing preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest and sending the Israeli delegation to Liverpool – a cost that the corporation seeks to invest in new quality content."
"It's a shame that Eurovision isn't important enough for the corporation, despite the huge interest the competition creates and despite Noa's success. It's an amazing anchor of the corporation. Why give it to someone else?" says LaValle! Culture Alon Amir, Eurovision commentator and spokesman for delegations to the contest in the past. "I understand the corporation's decision, but I don't necessarily agree with it and don't necessarily think it's right. It is true that preparations for Eurovision cost a lot of money, but on the other hand it is a huge asset that can be realized far beyond the week of Eurovision.
"Keshet and Teddy Productions, which I worked with, are professionals. There's a problem that I anticipate not being given enough time to choose a suitable song and getting stuck with songs that aren't good enough. And The Next Star won't choose an A-list artist or a veteran artist. This greatly reduces the choice, which will again be in an unfamiliar artist. It's true that they managed to bring victory with Netta, which is tremendous, but everything else wasn't great successes."
"It's a shame that the channel that broadcasts the contest and is responsible for it doesn't see Eurovision as an asset, and even after this year it made crazy ratings," Amir adds. "As we saw during the IBA, they don't know how to leverage it and treat it as an event that takes money. Other public broadcasters in Europe know how to leverage the competition in an amazing way, for example in the Eurovision front that receives higher ratings than Eurovision itself. It's a shame that Eurovision isn't high on the list of priorities, especially after Noa Kirl's madness, which has proven itself. For ten months they wrote about Israel at Eurovision constantly."
"Why give it up?" Noa Kirel at Eurovision (Screenshot, EBU, Kan 11)
Further criticism of Kan's decision came from a senior industry source familiar with Eurovision matters. "The decision to return the selection of a representative for Eurovision to Keshet is particularly bizarre given the corporation's growing success in the format it went for this year. The excuse that it's because of heavy expenses sounds illogical. The corporation has no problem of money. They have so much money, couldn't they invest NIS 3-4 million in a flagship project that is promoting and encouraging Israeli creativity and Israeli artists? It's delusional. This is a mistaken management decision of the highest order. Eurovision is supposed to be an asset, and they've seen that it can be an asset, but they're turning it into a liability. A public broadcaster is committed to promoting Israeli artists in Israeli music and musical creation. If it had been handled properly, they could have made a bonbonniera out of it, instead of transferring viewers to a competing channel."
"Even if you get luxurious packages of rainbow advertisements here, they weren't supposed to give up on choosing a representative for the competition. The investment in choosing a representative does not come at the expense of investment in dramas, it is a quality investment in itself - there is value in producing Israeli songs that star in streaming and charts around the world. In addition to promoting Israeli creativity, here they enjoyed an image and crazy public relations for an entire year."
"Noa Kirel would not have gone to 'The Next Star,' and other serious singers such as Margi or Shiri Maimon, who expressed interest in a rerun at Eurovision, will not compete today for the next star to represent Israel in the contest. There will only be unknown artists there, and rarely fall for some Barzilai plantation. The selection of the representative for Eurovision is supposed to be a flagship of the corporation, and this is not shame or anything inappropriate. That's a fatal mistake on my part here."
The corporation chose not to comment.
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"The Next Star" (Photo: screenshot, Sagittarius 12)
On the other hand, there are also those who support the idea of returning the selection of a representative for Eurovision to the "next star". "It's a decision that makes sense," says a source in the television industry who works with all the broadcasters, "In the end, producing a large and respectable reality show that will be done properly requires capabilities and good production that Teddy Productions has. And the hype surrounding Noa Kirl is a one-off. There is no other Noa in the country. So they probably realized that they needed hype that takes a good few months, during which you see a lot of singers and so on. Netta's success proved to be even more prevented. And for sure there is also a financial element here, apparently the corporation gets extra money from Keshet."
The corporation said that the decision to return the selection of the representative for Eurovision to Keshet was made after a selection process. A corporate source told Walla! Network 13 also applied but lost after their bid was "less attractive." At least when it comes to Keshet's better abilities than a network in creating a musical reality show, there's broader agreement in the industry. "It's clear that the right choice is Keshet, 'The Next Star' is still star-studded with stars and hosts, and the network doesn't have any musical program, so even if they offer a lot of money, what will happen there?" says the industry executive, "and the version that Reshet did with 'The X Factor' was bordering on embarrassing, on a production level, on a musical level and at the level of the chosen representative."
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- The Next Star
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- Noa Kirel
