Former Israeli Communications Chief Says Old TV Channels Suffer from Outdated Regulations

Shlomo Filber, former CEO of Israel's Ministry of Communications, reflects on the consequences of legacy TV channels resisting market competition. Between 2015 and 2017, while leading the "Filber Committee" on broadcasting market reforms, he advocated for deregulation to replace decades-old rules that protected established players and stifled innovation. The committee recommended easing content production obligations, removing unnecessary mandates, lifting price controls on content, and separating infrastructure from OTT broadcasting. These reforms aimed to reduce regulator interference, encourage new entrants, foster competition, lower prices, and enhance media pluralism.

Following these changes, new players like Cellcom TV and Partner TV entered the market, leading to price drops for multi-channel TV services from HOT and yes. Channels such as Channel 14 and i24 News expanded as general commercial broadcasters, marking a shift from heavy government protection to open competition benefiting viewers. However, legacy channels Keshet, Reshet, and Channel 10 (now Channel 13) opposed the reforms, seeking to maintain their monopoly. As a result, they now face an outdated regulatory authority, the Second Authority for Television and Radio, which imposes excessive oversight disconnected from current technological realities.

Filber criticizes recent legal attempts to reassert control over broadcasting regulation, calling them anachronistic and doomed to fail. He argues that Israel needs market-opening reforms rather than restrictive oversight and warns that audiences have already moved on from the old channels. His analysis highlights the tension between entrenched broadcasters and evolving media landscapes in Israel.