During the period from the day of publication of this Law until the twenty-eighth day of Tevet 5774 (31 December 2013), the Second Authority Law shall be read as follows:
(1)In section 51a –
(a)Instead of subsection (a) there shall come:
"(a) The Authority shall plan, establish and operate, by itself or through others, digital broadcast stations for the reception and public distribution of broadcasts to be received throughout the country, of the bodies listed below, subject to the provisions of section 51b:
(1)Holders of franchises for television broadcasting on Channel 2 and on the Third Channel;
(1a)Holders of licences for television broadcasting;
(2)The Knesset, in respect of the broadcasts of the Knesset Channel;
(3)The Broadcasting Authority, in respect of the television broadcasts it transmits;
(4)A designated channel broadcaster, including a designated channel broadcaster in the Arabic language;
(5)The Educational Television;
(6)A thematic channel broadcaster;
(7)The following bodies, in respect of the radio broadcasts they transmit:
(a)The Broadcasting Authority;
(b)Galei Tzahal;
(c)Holders of franchises for radio broadcasting;
(d)The Civil Defence Service, for the purpose of broadcasting emergency announcements only, on a permanent or temporary basis – in respect of a matter among the matters listed in paragraphs (1) to (8) of section 9(d) of the Television Broadcasts (Subtitles and Sign Language) Law, 5765-2005, or in respect of an attack as defined in the Civil Defence Law, 5711-1951.";
(b)Subsection (b) – is repealed;
(c)Instead of subsections (c) and (d) there shall come:
"(c) Digital broadcast stations shall be owned by and under the supervision of the Authority.
(d)The State Treasury shall bear the establishment cost for the purpose of the reception and public distribution of the broadcasts of the bodies referred to in subsection (a) by means of the digital broadcast stations pursuant to the provisions of section 51b, inter alia through the use of royalties paid pursuant to section 100 by a holder of a franchise for television broadcasting, a holder of a licence for television broadcasting and by any holder of a franchise for radio broadcasting.";
(d)Subsections (d1) and (d2) are repealed;
(e)Instead of subsections (e) to (g) there shall come:
"(e) During the period of establishment of the digital broadcast stations, the Director shall submit to the Minister and to the Minister of Finance a report, within 30 days of the end of each quarter (in this subsection – the reported quarter); such a report shall include, inter alia, the following particulars: the progress in the planning and establishment of digital broadcast stations during the reported quarter and the expected progress during the following quarter, an updated estimate of the total establishment cost, and an estimate of the expected expenditure in the quarter following the reported quarter.
(f)The Minister, the Minister of Finance or a person authorised by either of them for this purpose, may require the Director to provide additional particulars necessary for the purpose of checking the calculations underlying the estimates, as detailed in the report submitted pursuant to subsection (e).
(g)(1)No later than the twelfth day of Av 5769 (2 August 2009), digital broadcast stations shall be established so as to enable the reception of broadcasts of the bodies listed in subsection (a)(1), (2) and (3) in standard-definition technology, in accordance with the provisions of section 51b;
(2)No later than the twenty-eighth day of Tevet 5774 (31 December 2013), digital broadcast stations shall be established so as to enable the distribution and reception of television broadcasts of all the bodies as referred to in subsection (a), in standard-definition technology and in high-definition technology, subject to the provisions of section 51b;
(3)Nothing in the provisions of this subsection shall derogate from the provisions under the Planning and Building Law, 5725-1965.";
(f)Instead of subsections (i) to (l) there shall come:
"(i) (1) Upon the completion of the establishment as referred to in subsection (g)(1), the Director shall notify the franchise holders as referred to in subsection (a)(1) that it is possible to distribute television broadcasts by means of the digital broadcast stations;
(2)At the time when it becomes possible to distribute the television broadcasts of all the bodies as referred to in subsection (a) by means of the digital broadcast stations in standard-definition technology, subject to the provisions of section 51b, the Director shall notify the bodies referred to that have not yet commenced the distribution of their broadcasts by means of the digital broadcast stations that their broadcasts may be so distributed;
(3)Upon the completion of the establishment as referred to in subsection (g)(2), the Director shall notify the bodies broadcasting television broadcasts as referred to in subsection (a) that it is possible to distribute their broadcasts by means of the digital broadcast stations in high-definition technology, subject to the provisions of section 51b;
(4)Notices as referred to in this subsection shall also be published to the public in a manner directed by the Director.
(j)Holders of licences for television broadcasting and holders of franchises for television broadcasting may incorporate, for the purpose of transmitting their broadcasts to digital broadcast stations, and may enter into contracts with the Authority for that purpose; such incorporation or contracting shall not be regarded as a restrictive arrangement for the purposes of the Economic Competition Law, 5748-1988.
(k)Nothing in the provisions of this section shall derogate from the provisions of the Wireless Telegraph Ordinance.
(l)In this Section –
'Broadcasting Distribution Law' – Broadcasting Distribution by means of Digital Broadcast Stations Law, 5772-2012;
'high-definition technology', 'standard-definition technology', 'Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council', 'designated channel broadcaster', 'thematic channel broadcaster' and 'establishment cost' – as defined in the Broadcasting Distribution Law;
'digital broadcast station' – a broadcast station, including a control, coordination, regulation and amplification centre for television broadcasts and radio broadcasts, for the purpose of their transmission and public distribution, by digital means, directly or by means of additional broadcast stations as referred to.";
(2)In section 51b –
(a)Instead of the marginal heading there shall come "Distribution of Television Broadcasts and Radio Broadcasts by means of Digital Broadcast Stations";
(b)Instead of subsections (a), (a1) and (b) there shall come:
"(a) The Authority shall distribute by means of the digital broadcast stations the television broadcasts transmitted by the holders of franchises for television broadcasting within two television channels in standard-definition technology, provided that the Director has notified that this is possible in accordance with the provisions of section 51a(i)(1).
(a1)The Authority shall distribute by means of the digital broadcast stations the television broadcasts of a holder of a licence for television broadcasting, within one television channel in standard-definition technology.
(b)The Authority shall distribute the broadcasts of the Knesset Channel and the television broadcasts transmitted by the Broadcasting Authority, by means of digital broadcast stations, as detailed below:
(1)The Knesset Channel – one television channel in standard-definition technology;
(2)The Broadcasting Authority – two television channels in standard-definition technology.
(b1)(1)The Authority shall distribute, by means of the digital broadcast stations, the radio broadcasts of the bodies listed in the following paragraphs, if they so request, within radio channels as detailed in those paragraphs:
(a)the Broadcasting Authority – within a maximum of eight radio channels;
(b)Galei Tzahal – radio broadcasts of the Israel Defence Forces (in this subsection – Galei Tzahal) – within a maximum of two radio channels;
(c)holders of radio broadcasting franchises – within one radio channel for each franchise holder;
(d)the Civil Defence Service – within a maximum of four radio channels;
(2)Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), if the Broadcasting Authority or Galei Tzahal broadcast radio broadcasts within an additional radio channel beyond the channels referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b), as the case may be, the Authority shall also distribute the broadcasts of the additional radio channel, if the Broadcasting Authority or Galei Tzahal so request, subject to the available capacity for the distribution of the said broadcasts, provided that at least three months have elapsed since the day of publication of the Broadcasting Distribution Law.
(b2)The Authority shall distribute, by means of the digital broadcast stations, the television broadcasts of the bodies listed in the following paragraphs, even before a notice has been given pursuant to section 51a(ix)(2), if they so request, within television channels as detailed in those paragraphs:
(1)the broadcaster of the designated channel in the Arabic language who received its licence pursuant to the provisions of section 6ah1 of the Communications Law, before a notice has been given pursuant to section 51a(ix)(2) – within one television channel in standard-definition technology, provided that it submitted its request for the distribution of its broadcasts by means of digital broadcast stations before the expiry of six months from the date of receipt of the said licence;
(2)Educational Television – within one television channel in standard-definition technology, provided that one of the following conditions is met:
(a)the broadcaster of the designated channel in the Arabic language did not submit to the Authority a request for the distribution of its broadcasts by means of digital broadcast stations during the period referred to in paragraph (1), or notified the Authority, in writing, during the said period, that it does not intend to submit such a request to it;
(b)there is available capacity for the distribution of the broadcasts of Educational Television by means of digital broadcast stations, even if the broadcasts of the designated channel in the Arabic language are distributed pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1).
(b3)Without derogating from the provisions of subsections (a) to (b2), if the Authority's notice pursuant to section 51a(ix)(2) has been given, the Authority shall distribute, by means of the digital broadcast stations, the television broadcasts of the bodies listed in the following paragraphs, if they so request, within television channels as detailed in those paragraphs:
(1)a broadcaster of a designated channel, including a broadcaster of a designated channel in the Arabic language who did not submit a request for distribution during the period referred to in subsection (b2)(1) – within one television channel in standard-definition technology; however, if the number of designated channel broadcasters whose broadcasts are distributed by means of the digital broadcast stations exceeds five, the broadcasts of an additional designated channel broadcaster shall be distributed subject to the available capacity for the distribution of broadcasts as aforesaid;
(2)Educational Television, if its broadcasts were not distributed in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b2)(2) – within one television channel in standard-definition technology.
(b4)Without derogating from the provisions of subsections (a) to (b3), if the Authority's notice pursuant to section 51a(ix)(3) has been given, the Authority shall distribute, by means of the digital broadcast stations, the television broadcasts of the bodies listed in the following paragraphs, within television channels as detailed in those paragraphs:
(1)the Broadcasting Authority, if it so requests – within one additional television channel in high-definition technology (in this paragraph – the additional channel); the broadcasts on the additional channel shall be broadcast simultaneously with their broadcast on one of the channels referred to in subsection (b)(2);
(2)a body from among the bodies listed in section 51a(a), other than the Broadcasting Authority, whose broadcasts are distributed by means of the digital broadcast stations within a television channel in standard-definition technology (in this paragraph – the main channel) – within one additional television channel in high-definition technology, for each such body, provided that the said body so requested and was selected in an equal procedure as directed by the Minister, after consultation with the Minister of Finance, the Council and the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council; in determining the conditions of the procedure pursuant to this paragraph, account shall be taken, inter alia, of considerations for the promotion of competition in the field of television broadcasting, the variety of types and character of television broadcasts, as well as the possibility of distributing the television broadcasts of other bodies listed in section 51a(a) within the available capacity in the digital broadcast stations; the broadcasts on the said additional channel shall be broadcast simultaneously with their broadcast on the main channel.
(b5)The commencement of the distribution of the broadcasts of the bodies listed in the following paragraphs, by means of digital broadcast stations, pursuant to this section, whose broadcasts were not distributed on the eve of the publication of the Broadcasting Distribution Law, shall be no later than the date specified in those paragraphs, as the case may be:
(1)a holder of a television broadcasting licence as referred to in subsection (a1) – one year from the date on which the licence was granted to it;
(2)a body broadcasting radio broadcasts that submitted a request for the distribution of its broadcasts by means of digital broadcast stations pursuant to subsection (b1) – a reasonable time not exceeding 90 days from the date of submission of the said request, and in respect of radio broadcasts on an additional channel as referred to in subsection (b1)(2) – a reasonable time not exceeding 90 days from the date on which there is available capacity for the distribution of the said broadcasts;
(3)the broadcaster of the designated channel in the Arabic language that submitted a request for the distribution of its broadcasts by means of digital broadcast stations pursuant to subsection (b2)(1) – a reasonable time not exceeding 90 days from the date of submission of the said request;
(4)a designated channel broadcaster that submitted a request for the distribution of its broadcasts by means of digital broadcast stations pursuant to subsection (b3)(1), who is among the first five designated channel broadcasters as referred to in that subsection – one year from the date on which it submitted the said request, and each additional designated channel broadcaster as referred to in that subsection whose distribution of broadcasts is subject to the available capacity for the distribution of broadcasts by means of digital broadcast stations – a reasonable time not exceeding 90 days from the date on which there is available capacity as aforesaid;
(5)Educational Television – if it submitted a request for the distribution of its broadcasts by means of digital broadcast stations pursuant to subsection (b2)(2) – a reasonable time not exceeding 90 days from the date on which a condition from among the conditions referred to in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (b2)(2) is met, and if it submitted a request for distribution as aforesaid pursuant to subsection (b3)(2) – one year from the date on which it submitted the said request;
(6)the Broadcasting Authority, in respect of the broadcasts of the additional channel within its meaning in subsection (b4)(1) – one year from the date on which it requested that the broadcasts of the additional channel be distributed by means of digital broadcast stations as referred to in that subsection;
(7)a body as referred to in subsection (b4)(2) – a reasonable time not exceeding 90 days from the date on which it was selected in the procedure pursuant to that subsection.";
(c)subsections (c) and (d) – are cancelled;
(d)in place of subsection (e) the following shall come:
"(e) (1) The Authority shall distribute the television broadcasts of the bodies referred to in section 51a(a)(1) to (5), such that the manner of distribution, the quality of the television broadcasts and the possibility of choosing the other components of the television broadcasts shall be identical with respect to all bodies whose television broadcasts are distributed by means of standard-definition technology or by means of high-definition technology, as the case may be;
(2)The Authority shall distribute the radio broadcasts of the bodies referred to in section 51a(a)(7), such that the manner of distribution, the quality of the radio broadcasts and the possibility of choosing the other components of the radio broadcasts shall be identical with respect to all bodies whose radio broadcasts are distributed as aforesaid.";
(e)subsection (f) – is cancelled;
(f)at the end thereof the following shall come:
"(g) The Minister, after consultation with the Minister of Finance and with the Council and with the approval of the Economics Committee of the Knesset, shall prescribe circumstances and conditions under which the Authority shall cease to distribute the broadcasts of a body from among the bodies referred to in section 51a(a), including pursuant to a request of a body whose broadcasts are distributed at its request, as well as circumstances and conditions under which the Authority shall be entitled to cease such distribution.";
(3)After section 51c the following shall come:
"Non-collection of payment for the reception of television broadcasts or radio broadcasts