i24NEWS is a 24-hour news television channel created by journalists and reporters from Israel.[1] It broadcasts in languages such as French, English, Hebrew, and Arabic. The channel was founded by Patrick Drahi, with Frank Melloul serving as its first CEO. In 2025, Ronit Ganon-Amit was appointed CEO of i24NEWS, while Frank Melloul was promoted to Chairman.[2] The company is based in Tel Aviv, but the broadcast network reports news from all over the world.[3]
In early 2017, the channel paired up with the US to expand their channel. By 2018, the company had studios in Tel Aviv, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. It still deploys correspondents in other locations around the world.[4] In September 2021, following the Abraham Accords, the channel received a broadcasting license from the United Arab Emirates and opened its Gulf bureau in Dubai Media City.[5][6][7] In May 2022, the channel launched its operations in Morocco with two new bureaus in Rabat and Casablanca.[8]
In June 2024, i24NEWS launched a Hebrew language channel, the fourth channel of the network.[9]
History
The channel went live on 17 July 2013. Melloul stated that it would battle prejudice and ignorance about Israel with "facts and diversity".[10][11]
Arab Israeli journalist Lucy Aharish was the lead anchor of the English-language branch of the channel from July 2013 until she left in January 2016.
On 8 December 2016, all programming on the English channel officially ended in preparation for launching in America. The channel broadcast 10 minutes of news on the hour from 0800 to 2300 (local time), replacing "Morning Edition", "The Daily Beat" and "The Lineup".
The launch of i24NEWS in the United States was announced on 27 January 2017. The channel is operated out of its headquarters in Jaffa.
Live programming in the US is broadcast from Times Square in New York, New York, as well as from an additional bureau in Washington, D.C. Approximately 50 journalists were hired to staff the two locations, and the channel uses resources from its Jaffa headquarters.
Among the first journalists hired were Michelle Makori, anchor and editor-in-chief; David Shuster, managing editor; and Dan Raviv, a veteran of CBS News. The channel acquired many of its debut behind-the-scenes talent from the former Al Jazeera America.[12][13]
In 2020, following the Abraham Accords, i24NEWS signed a variety of memorandum of understanding[14] and partnership agreements with leading companies in the UAE. i24NEWS became the first Israel-based channel to be broadcast in the UAE. In 2021, the channel received a UAE broadcast license and launched its studios[15] in Dubai Media City, the regional hub for media organizations in the Gulf.
In 2022, i24NEWS launched its operations in Morocco[16] and opened bureaus in Rabat and Casablanca.[17]
On 29 October 2023, the i24 launched i24 Freedom, a 24-hour international channel devoted to the ongoing Israel–Hamas War. The channel won an International Emmy Award for foreign news reporting during the war.[18]
On 30 June 2024, i24NEWS launched a Hebrew language channel.[19][20]
A 2024 report from the Israeli bureau of statistics showed that i24NEWS English was the most watched English language news channel in the middle east, with peak broadcasts reaching 400,000 viewers.
i24NEWS English is available in the UK, along with a number of other international news channels, via online video subscription service NewsPlayer+.[25]
In January 2021, i24NEWS became the first Israeli-based channel available in the UAE, on the country's leading content provider Etisalat.[26] Later that year, DU became the second operator to add the channel to its subscribers in the UAE.[27]
Since October 2021, i24NEWS is available in Australia on Flash streaming service.[28]
Key people
Ali Waked, is the Director of i24NEWS’s International Branch and manages content and editorial direction in English, French, and Arabic.[29][30][31][32]
Anchors at i24NEWS past and present include:[33][34]
Nicole Zedeck, anchor, The Rundown and i24NEWS NEWSDESK
Benita Levin, anchor, The Rundown and i24NEWS NEWSDESK
In addition to news, the channel also features current affairs shows and reports on such subjects as economy, defense, sports, technology and other topics. Opinion-based, magazine-style shows are broadcast between the hourly news updates.
The names of the shows are: "i24NEWS Desk," "The Rundown," "Middle East Now," "Holy Land Uncovered," and "Jewish World Weekly."
i24NEWSROOM: Hourly Flashes. Live news updates throughout the day from around the world.
Le Prime: Daily show with reports and interviews focus on political, diplomatic and economic news in the Middle East. Host: Jean-Charles Banoun.
Les Grandes Gueules Moyen-Orient: Daily debate show between Tel Aviv, Paris, New York and as far as Dubai to debrief about the news of the day with those who live it. Host: David Neeman.
Le Grand Oral: Every Sunday, an interview focus on one famous guest in Paris. Host: Michael Darmon.
Le Debrief: Weekly current affairs magazine offering in-depth analysis of major Israeli and international news. Host: Miri Maman.[40]
Défense: Magazine dealing with Defense and Security issues in the Middle-East. Host: Matthias Inbar.
Conversations avec Nathalie Nagar: Weekly magazine focus on Israeli society. Host: Nathalie Nagar.
Politique: Weekly show dealing with Israeli politics. Host: Nathalie Nagar.
i24NEWS Desk: News from the Middle East and around the world.
ADAAL MASA: Daily News show that focuses on main headlines of the day with guests, debates and reports.
The Debate: A daily debate.
Eye On The Gulf: A weekly show that sheds an eye on the most important Gulf political and economic issues and headlines, and the most important issues on social networking.
Madar al Osboa: a weekly show that brings the most interesting events of the week, combining guests in the studio.
↑ i24NEWS. "Channels". I24news. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑ i24NEWS. "Nos Émissions". I24news (in French). Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑ i24NEWS. "برنامج". I24news (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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