TEL AVIV – International news channel i24NEWS has begun broadcasting in Israel, having started on Wednesday 29 August 29. The channel, which broadcasts international news from the heart of the Middle East to the world, recently received the approval of the Cable Council to broadcast in Israel.
The English-language channel will be broadcast on HOT channels 34 and 200 as part of the international news offerings; the French channel will be on channel 144 as part of the French package; and the third channel, in Arabic, will soon be available on channel 174.
Contacts have also been initiated with other television providers. “We are working with all other providers in order to air the three channels on all possible platforms,” i24NEWS CEO Frank Melloul said at a press conference Wednesday.
Today, i24NEWS has some 400 employees, including over 200 journalists around the world. Since its launch in July 2013, the channel has expanded and opened studios in Paris, Los Angeles, and Washington, and a year ago, launched a studio in Times Square, New York.
The channel broadcasts news 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, with a programming schedule comprised of two prime time blocks: the first according to European and Middle Eastern time zones, and the second according to the United States’ time zones.
i24NEWS reaches tens of millions of households worldwide through both cable and satellite providers. The channel operates a website that offers live viewing of the channel’s broadcasts as well as a news application.
“I am excited to announce that starting today, and after 5 years of expectation we are available in Israel,” Frank Melloul, CEO of i24NEWS, said of Wednesday’s launch. “I made Aliyah with my family to build i24NEWS, with a vision to launch a channel that will present to the world what is happening in Israel and the Middle East in a balanced and fair manner.”
“Since then we grew up and are broadcasting all around the world as a global news channel based in the heart of the Middle East, which is also a unique and amazing example of coexistence in this area. We have come a long way to establish i24NEWS as a reliable, competitive and balanced independent news channel. I want to thank the founder and owner of i24NEWS, Patrick Drahi. I am lucky to be the CEO of a news company owned by someone who understands the importance of an independent news network and I promise you it will remain independent. i24NEWS will be strictly following ethics and regulation rules,” Melloul added.
“Now, after we achieved this goal to broadcast i24NEWS in English, French and Arabic in Israel, it’s time to go on to the next challenge: As part of the Minister’s reform to open the market and allow as many channels to broadcast in a free media field, it is time to start talking about a fourth i24NEWS channel – in Hebrew. It is our natural next step.”
