Telecommunications in Israel are the most developed in the Middle East. Israel's system consists of coaxial cables, optical fibers, and microwave radio relay. Prior to the 1990s, Israel's telecommunication market was dominated by Bezeq, a government-owned corporation. During the 1990s, the Israeli telecommunication industry transitioned from government owned monopolies to diversified private competition by a range of new companies. As of 2014, the telecommunications sector in Israel had revenues over ₪15 billion, representing about 2% of the GDP.
International broadcasting consists of radio and television transmissions that purposefully cross international boundaries, often with then intent of allowing expatriates to remain in touch with their countries of origin as well as educate, inform, and influence residents of foreign countries. Content can range from overt propaganda and counterpropaganda to cultural content to news reports that reflect the point of view and concerns of the originating country or that seek to provide alternative information to that otherwise available as well as promote tourism and trade. In the first half of the twentieth century, international broadcasting was used by colonial empires as a means of connecting colonies with the metropole. When operated by governments or entities close to a government, international broadcasting can be a form of soft power. Less frequently, international broadcasting has been undertaken for commercial purposes by private broadcasters.
The Israel Broadcasting Authority was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017, succeeded by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.
The Second Authority for Television and Radio is an Israeli commercial television and radio authority, established in the wake of a law passed by the Knesset in 1990.
Television in Israel refers to television broadcasting services in the State of Israel, inaugurated on March 24, 1966. Initially, there was one state-owned channel, operated jointly by the Israel Broadcasting Authority and the Israeli Educational Television. In 1986, a second state-regulated channel was launched. This channel became a state-regulated commercial channel in 1993. An additional commercial channel was introduced in 2002, followed by the introduction of three commercial niche channels: an Israeli Russian-speaking channel, a channel of Israeli popular music and an Arabic-speaking channel. Colour transmissions were introduced gradually around 1977 and 1979. Multichannel cable television service became available to subscribers gradually since 1989, although illegal cable TV stations were present in the big cities during the 1980s. Satellite-based multichannel service has been available since 2000.
Voice of Peace was an offshore radio station that broadcast in the Middle East for 20 years from the former Dutch cargo vessel MV Peace, anchored off the Israeli coast in the Eastern Mediterranean. Founded by Abie Nathan and the New York-based Peace Ship Foundation, the station broadcast almost continuously between 19 May 1973 and November 1993. The station was relaunched but solely as an online station in August 2009. A second online channel called The Voice of Peace Classics was added in 2014.
Kol Tsion HaLokhemet was the underground radio station of the Irgun.
Israel has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 46 times since making its debut in 1973. The current Israeli participant broadcaster in the contest is the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan). Israel has won the contest four times, and has hosted the contest in Jerusalem in 1979 and 1999, and in Tel Aviv in 2019.
Israeli Army Radio or Galei Tzahal, known in Israel by its acronym Galatz, is a nationwide state funded Israeli radio network operated by the Israel Defense Forces. The station broadcasts news, music, traffic reports and educational programs to the general public as well as entertainment and military news magazines for soldiers. The network has one main station and an offshoot - Galgalatz - that broadcasts music and traffic reports 24 hours a day in Hebrew. The staff includes both soldiers and civilians. Until December 2013, it broadcast via shortwave to Europe. There is still a livestream feed on the internet. Following the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war in 2023, it started using the former frequencies of 1287 kHz and 945 kHz to reach bomb shelters and other areas in Israel.
Israel Radio International or Reka is the radio service of the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC) for immigrants and listeners abroad.
Until May 2017, the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) provided news programming in 14 foreign languages directed at audiences abroad or in Israel. The goal of these programs is to present a balanced and impartial picture of what happens in Israel in particular and in the region in general. Each language has its own schedule of programs focusing on news, political, social, educational, economic, technological and cultural issues.
There are over ten different languages in the Israeli media, with Hebrew as the predominant one. Press in Arabic caters to the Arab citizens of Israel, with readers from areas including those governed by the Palestinian National Authority. During the eighties and nineties, the Israeli press underwent a process of significant change as the media gradually came to be controlled by a limited number of organizations, whereas the papers published by political parties began to disappear. Today, three large, privately owned conglomerates based in Tel Aviv dominate the mass media in Israel.
Channel 1 was the second oldest television channel in Israel and one of five terrestrial channels in the country.
Ron Ben-Yishai is an Israeli journalist. A veteran war correspondent, Ben-Yishai has covered many military conflicts in several different regions. In 2018, he won the Israel Prize, Israel's most prestigious civic honor.
Jerusalem Calling was the radio station established by the British Mandatory Authority through its broadcasting wing, the Palestine Broadcasting Service. It broadcast in three languages, Arabic, English and Hebrew.
The Recording of the Israel Declaration of Independence was a complete recording of the declaration using a direct to disc recording technique on acetate discs using special cutting machines. Neither the original records nor their duplicates were demanded by Israel state authorities and to date they cannot be located, except for one original acetate disc. However, copies of the recording itself survived on different media.
Yigal Ravid is an Israeli radio and television presenter, best known for hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 in Jerusalem.
Razi Barkai is an Israeli media personality.
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation is the national broadcaster of Israel. It carries the blanket branding Kan in Hebrew and Makan in Arabic. Its news division, Kan News, is the third biggest brand in Israeli newscasting, after HaHadashot 12 and Channel 13 News.
