**4.2 The Israeli Public Channel**

The Israeli television broadcasting service was established in 1963, following years of political opposition to its formation, and took its first broadcasting steps in 1968. It was formed under strict regulations concerning the broadcasts' contents and the channel's financing and political independence (Weimann 1996; Zuckerman 1999). The development of the Israeli television market resembles that of European television markets rather than that of the American one. In the United States television adopted a commercial, multichannel model right from the start. While the United States has a public channel, its standing, influence and ratings are quite marginal. In contrast, broadcastings in many European countries began with a monopolistic public channel. In this model the broadcasts are publicly funded and are motivated mainly by content demands (in most countries public television was defined primarily as an educating and informative tool), rather than by profit maximization (Zuckerman 1999).

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the classic model of public television, later emulated by many countries, including Israel. The BBC was established in 1922 as a monopolistic television and radio broadcasting channel. It retained its monopoly until 1954, when an additional television channel, ITV, was formed (Whannel 1992). The BBC is mostly financed by public toll payments. It is compelled by the law to provide information, education and entertainment services, and to make sure that the programs maintain high

years, both sides shared a clear interest in the alliance, and their mutual choice served them both well. Yet, this long lasting relationship has been also characterized by varying patterns of exploitation. At different periods, both sides took advantage of their relative position in the television/sports market. They forced the other side to accept their terms, and maximized their rent on the other's expense. To study the historical evolution of this interdependence I rely mainly on the archives of the three major daily Israeli newspapers: *Yediot Ahronot, Maariv,* and *Haaretz*, and their respective websites: *ynet.co.il, nrg.co.il,* and

Maccabi Tel-Aviv, the first Israeli basketball club, was formed in 1932. In 1954, when the Israeli basketball league was founded, Maccabi Tel-Aviv became the league's first champion. Since then the team has won 48 additional championships, a degree of dominance that is quite rare in professional sports. The team is also very successful in the European arena. Since the beginning of the seventies, it has played regularly in the major

Over the years, Maccabi evolved from an amateur to a professional organization. During the last two decades, the team's yearly budget grew from about a million dollars at the beginning of the nineties to 10 million ten years later and about 20 million today. The organizational and managerial domains have also gone through significant changes. The team broke off its public and municipal support and became a private association, controlled by private businessmen (Haaretz, June 5, 2003). However, as is often the case with sports organizations that become commercialized (e.g. Enjolras 2002), the team's public

The Israeli television broadcasting service was established in 1963, following years of political opposition to its formation, and took its first broadcasting steps in 1968. It was formed under strict regulations concerning the broadcasts' contents and the channel's financing and political independence (Weimann 1996; Zuckerman 1999). The development of the Israeli television market resembles that of European television markets rather than that of the American one. In the United States television adopted a commercial, multichannel model right from the start. While the United States has a public channel, its standing, influence and ratings are quite marginal. In contrast, broadcastings in many European countries began with a monopolistic public channel. In this model the broadcasts are publicly funded and are motivated mainly by content demands (in most countries public television was defined primarily as an educating and informative tool), rather than by profit

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the classic model of public television, later emulated by many countries, including Israel. The BBC was established in 1922 as a monopolistic television and radio broadcasting channel. It retained its monopoly until 1954, when an additional television channel, ITV, was formed (Whannel 1992). The BBC is mostly financed by public toll payments. It is compelled by the law to provide information, education and entertainment services, and to make sure that the programs maintain high

European basketball league, and won the European championship a few times.

*Haaretz.co.il*.

**4.1 Maccabi Tel-Aviv basketball club** 

support remained strong.

**4.2 The Israeli Public Channel** 

maximization (Zuckerman 1999).
