{"id":478665,"date":"2026-02-16T14:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T14:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/478665\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T14:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T14:41:11","slug":"channel-13s-looming-sale-ignites-fears-of-political-meddling-and-regulatory-evasion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/478665\/","title":{"rendered":"Channel 13’s looming sale ignites fears of political meddling and regulatory evasion"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a move that could reshape Israel\u2019s media landscape and has already sparked fierce legal and union opposition, Len Blavatnik, the controlling shareholder of Channel 13 \u2014 one of Israel\u2019s two commercial television channels \u2014 has decided<\/a> to sell his shares in the channel to cable tycoon Patrick Drahi.<\/p>\n

The decision comes despite a significantly higher financial offer<\/a> from a consortium of tech entrepreneurs and amid allegations<\/a> of political intervention from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s circle.<\/p>\n

The deal, which the board of Channel 13 approved in recent days, has set the stage for a bruising legal confrontation.<\/p>\n

The Union of Journalists in Israel has already petitioned the attorney general and the competition commissioner to block the sale, describing the proposed new ownership structure as a \u201cfiction\u201d designed to bypass broadcasting laws and warning of a hostile takeover that could decimate the channel\u2019s independent news division.<\/p>\n

Blavatnik reportedly rejected a robust offer from a group of Israeli tech leaders led by Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport. According to a report on Sunday in The Financial Times<\/a>, the group offered to invest approximately $120 million over three years to stabilize the channel and preserve its journalistic independence.<\/p>\n

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But Blavatnik chose Drahi\u2019s bid, which involves an immediate injection of only $25 million. According to The Marker business daily, sources close to the negotiations suggest the decision was driven not by business metrics but by regulatory and political pressure<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tA reporter from Channel 13. February 22, 2025 (Yossi Aloni\/FLASH90)<\/p>\n

Messages were reportedly conveyed to Blavatnik suggesting that a sale to the tech group would face bureaucratic delays orchestrated by the government, whereas a transfer of shares to Drahi \u2014 who also owns the HOT cable network and the i24NEWS channel \u2014 would be fast-tracked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe message was that the government would approve a sale to Drahi in five minutes,\u201d sources close to the negotiations told The Marker.<\/p>\n

Deepening losses<\/p>\n

The urgency of the sale is underpinned by the channel\u2019s acute financial distress. According to financial data obtained by The Marker, Channel 13 burned through NIS 340 million (approximately $110 million) between 2022 and 2025.<\/p>\n

The report attributes this collapse to a \u201cmanagement failure\u201d involving heavy investment in expensive reality productions like \u201cBig Brother\u201d and \u201cThe Voice\u201d during a period of shrinking advertising revenue.<\/p>\n

Without a dramatic turnaround, the channel is projected to lose another NIS 250 million ($80 million) by 2027. This financial hole reportedly left the company unable to survive without an immediate infusion of capital, paving the way for Drahi\u2019s entry.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tLen Blavatnik attends the 2026 Warner Music Grammy Party on January 29, 2026, in Los Angeles, California (Jerod Harris\/Getty Images\/AFP)<\/p>\n

The central legal obstacle to the deal is Israel\u2019s cross-ownership law, which forbids the owner of cable infrastructure (like Drahi\u2019s HOT) from holding more than 15% of a broadcast news channel (like Channel 13). Furthermore, the Competition Authority would likely scrutinize a merger between two major media players in such a concentrated market.<\/p>\n

To circumvent these restrictions, the deal is reportedly<\/a> structured so that Drahi will officially hold no more than 15% of the shares initially. The remaining shares and control would officially reside with Channel 13\u2019s current CEO, Emiliano Calemzuk, who would act as the \u201cface\u201d of the ownership.<\/p>\n

The Union of Journalists argues that this arrangement is a transparent loophole. While Drahi would technically be a minority shareholder, he would be the sole investor injecting capital into the cash-strapped channel, making him the de facto controlling owner.<\/p>\n

In an urgent letter sent last week to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and Competition Commissioner Michal Cohen, attorneys representing the Union of Journalists slammed the arrangement.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if Mr. Calemzuk\u2026 is presented to the regulators as holding the majority of the means of control\u2026 it is understood that one who does not inject funds into the deal\u2026 cannot be a true controlling owner,\u201d wrote Amir Basha and Gilad Zvida. They argued that presenting Calemzuk as the owner while Drahi funds the operation is \u201ca fiction\u201d that cannot be ignored.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tFrench telecom and media group Altice president Patrick Drahi arrives for a hearing before a parliamentary commission on media concentration at the French Senate in Paris on February 2, 2022. (STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

The union\u2019s legal team also warned against \u201cgun jumping\u201d \u2014 the illegal practice of coordinating operations or transferring funds before receiving regulatory approval. Reports indicate that Blavatnik\u2019s primary condition for the sale was that the buyer assume immediate financial responsibility for the channel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe parties are prohibited from performing any act that creates a link on the part of the purchaser to the company until the commissioner\u2019s decision is received,\u201d the union\u2019s letter stated, noting that premature funding would constitute a violation of the Competition Law. The lawyers warned that such violations could lead to criminal proceedings, citing precedents from both Israeli and US law.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu\u2019s watchful eye<\/p>\n

The political undertones of the deal are heavy. Blavatnik, who purchased Channel 10 (which later merged into Reshet 13) over a decade ago, stated during a police questioning in 2017 that he had consulted with Netanyahu regarding his media investments in Israel.<\/p>\n

According to reports at the time, Blavatnik told the police that the prime minister had urged him to acquire Channel 10 in 2015, claiming it would be a \u201cnational mission\u201d \u2014 so as to prevent the channel from falling into the hands of a competing bidder whom Netanyahu described as \u201cultra-left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tReshet (Channel 13) CEO Emiliano Calemzuk (courtesy)<\/p>\n

Critics now see a recurrence of this pattern. Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi has held meetings with Drahi\u2019s representatives and Reshet CEO Calemzuk in recent months. Karhi is also actively promoting legislation to abolish the cross-ownership ban, which would eventually allow Drahi to own the channel outright.<\/p>\n

Simultaneously, Drahi\u2019s i24NEWS has been described as increasingly aligned<\/a> with the government\u2019s narrative, in a media market that is becoming less independent and nonpartisan.<\/p>\n

Channel 13\u2019s news division is characterized by many as critical of the government and has had several exposes that led to friction with the prime minister and his supporters. In contrast, Channel 14 serves as a right-wing counterweight, consistently providing coverage favorable to the current coalition.<\/p>\n

Channel 14, however, does not broadcast on Shabbat, leaving a gap in pro-government programming during the prime Friday evening viewing hours. This is where many believe Drahi\u2019s i24NEWS comes in.<\/p>\n

i24NEWS has recently launched a Hebrew-language television channel that critics describe as convenient for the current Netanyahu-led coalition, with a clear right-wing political agenda. Critics note<\/a> that its Friday night program, \u201cThe Friday Cabinet,\u201d appears positioned to capture the pro-Netanyahu audience when Channel 14 is off the air.<\/p>\n

Employees at Channel 13 fear that a Drahi takeover will lead to a merger between Channel 13\u2019s news division and i24NEWS, effectively neutralizing Channel 13\u2019s independent editorial line and aligning it with the government\u2019s narrative.<\/p>\n

Fears of mass layoffs<\/p>\n

The staff at Channel 13 is now bracing for impact, as the deal is expected to result in a massive wave of layoffs. Consequently, the Union of Journalists has declared a work dispute and is preparing for a strike.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tProtesters gather outside the Blavatnik Building at Tate Modern in London, accusing UK billionaire Len Blavatnik of cancelling TV programmes on Channel 13 in Israel which are critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, July 21, 2024 (Rotem Peri)<\/p>\n

In a letter to the Channel 13 board, the union demanded that the directors halt the \u201cillegal\u201d transaction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that it is now correct to wait until the picture clarifies regarding the identity of the owners\u2026 and their intentions regarding the news company, its journalistic independence, and the occupational future of its employees,\u201d the TV channel\u2019s Workers Committee stated. The workers also explicitly rejected the possibility of mass firings: \u201cMass layoffs in News 13 of the type mentioned in the media\u2026 have never been on the negotiating table and we oppose them strongly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Complicating matters is Drahi\u2019s own financial precarity. The telecom magnate is currently grappling with debts estimated in the billions of euros and has been liquidating assets globally<\/a>. In Israel, he has already initiated deep cuts at i24NEWS, where dozens of employees have recently left or been fired.<\/p>\n

The Union of Journalists raised this point in its appeal to the regulators, questioning the logic of allowing a tycoon in financial distress to acquire a major public broadcast asset. \u201cThere is a concern that Mr. Drahi\u2026 may be fleeing assets abroad,\u201d the letter noted, suggesting that owning a major Israeli news channel might be intended to provide him with \u201cimmunity\u201d or political leverage in Israel.<\/p>\n

Despite the uproar, Channel 13 CEO Calemzuk defended the move in a message to employees, calling Drahi a \u201cstrong strategic investor\u201d who would strengthen the channel\u2019s financial stability.<\/p>\n

However, with the union threatening to take the matter to the Labor Court and the Supreme Court, and with regulators now under pressure to intervene, the sale of Channel 13 is far from a done deal \u2013 and is shaping up to be a defining battle over the boundaries between money, media, and politics in Israel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a move that could reshape Israel\u2019s media landscape and has already sparked fierce legal and union opposition,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478666,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[49,48,75,348],"class_list":["post-478665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}