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Second Authority for Television and Radio Law, 5750-1990

חוק הרשות השניה לטלויזיה ורדיו, התש"ן–1990

Published: 1990-02-13Last amended 2026-07-28✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-09
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More

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The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.

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Section H: Provisions concerning Holders of Minor Television Broadcasting Licences

Definitions – Sections H and I§
71f.

In this Section and in Section I –

"minor licence holder" – a holder of a television broadcasting licence whose revenues from the conduct of broadcasts and from the provision of services as referred to in section 100 do not exceed NIS 80,000,000 in the preceding year;

"minor licence holder" – (with effect from 1.1.2027): a holder of a television broadcasting licence whose revenues from the conduct of broadcasts and from the provision of services as referred to in section 100 do not exceed NIS 2,000,000,000 in the preceding year;

"designated minor licence holder" – a minor licence holder who, on the commencement date, held a special licence for cable broadcasting for a designated channel broadcaster pursuant to the provisions of section 6ah1 of the Communications Law and in whom one of the following applies:

(1)at least 51 per cent of all its broadcasts fulfil the special purpose specified in the special licence, and at least 20 per cent of its broadcasts are Israeli productions;
(2)it invests at least 51 per cent of its annual revenues in programmes in which the special purpose specified in the special licence is fulfilled, and at least 20 per cent of its revenues are invested in Israeli productions;

"designated channel broadcaster licence holder" – a holder of a special licence for cable broadcasting for a designated channel broadcaster pursuant to the provisions of section 6ah1 of the Communications Law as worded on the eve of its repeal by the Amending Law;

"Israeli production" – a programme that is not news broadcasts, in which at least 75 per cent of its producers, performers and technical-engineering crew who took part in its production, and at least 75 per cent of its production crew, are residents of Israel who permanently reside therein, and which was produced for a primary Israeli target audience in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, Amharic or Tigrinya, or in another language approved in advance by the Council;

"the Amending Law" – the Second Authority for Television and Radio Law (Amendment No. 44), 5778-2018;

"commencement date" – the commencement date of the Amending Law;

"transition period" – a period of eight years commencing on the commencement date.

List of Minor Licence Holders§
71g.
(a)Without derogating from the provisions of section 108, a holder of a television broadcasting licence shall provide to the Director all information required for the examination of the licence holder's revenues by 31 March of each year, as determined by the Director.
(b)The Director shall publish on the Authority's website, by 1 June of each year, a list of minor licence holders and minor designated licence holders.
Special Provisions concerning a Minor Licence Holder§
71h.
(a)In relation to a minor licence holder, his broadcasts shall be deemed to be television broadcasts as defined in section 1, the provisions of sections 49, 61, 85 and 88(3) shall not apply to him, and the following provisions shall apply to him with these modifications:
(1)the provisions of section 62a(a) shall apply to the prohibition of an arrangement between him and another holder of a television broadcasting licence in respect of advertising spots only;
(2)in section 85a(a), after "directly or indirectly" the following shall be read: "and if he is a minor licence holder – more than twenty-five per cent of the broadcasting time of his advertising spots; in respect of a minor licence holder whose annual revenues do not exceed NIS 7,000,000 – the broadcasting licensee shall not sell or allocate more than fifty per cent of the broadcasting time of his advertising spots, provided that the person to whom broadcasting time for advertising is sold is not an advertising agent";
(3)in section 85a(b1), at the end the following shall be read: "and if he is a minor licence holder – in an amount exceeding 25 per cent of his annual revenues from the sale of advertising content broadcasting".
(b)A minor licence holder shall be exempt from the obligations set out below, including in the year following the year in which he ceased to be a minor licence holder:
(1)broadcasting of news, subject to the provisions of subsection (c);
(2)broadcasting of local productions pursuant to sections 59 and 60;
(3)expenditure for the production of a prestige genre pursuant to section 62c(a1) and item 5 of the Second Schedule;
(4)investment in Israeli films pursuant to section 62c(a1) and item 5a of the Second Schedule.
(c)Should a minor licence holder decide to broadcast news, the following provisions shall apply:
(1)he shall be exempt from broadcasting news through a news company pursuant to Section D of Chapter IV and from expenditure for the operation of a news company pursuant to section 62c(a1) and item 3 of the Second Schedule, provided that the news broadcasts he broadcasts shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Third Schedule or in accordance with the provisions of Section D of Chapter IV, at his election;
(2)(to be deleted on 1.1.2027): the place of business of the news array as defined in the Third Schedule shall be in Jerusalem; this provision shall apply commencing upon the expiry of three years from the date of receipt of the licence or from the commencement of news broadcasts, whichever is the later, and shall not apply if the news broadcasts are not in Hebrew; if a licence holder commenced broadcasting news in Hebrew, in whole or in part, after having broadcast news in a language other than Hebrew, the three years shall be counted from the date of commencement of broadcasts in the Hebrew language as aforesaid.
(d)(to be cancelled on 1.1.2027): a minor licence holder, except for one in whom the provisions of paragraph (1) of the definition of "designated minor licence holder" apply, shall invest at least 20 per cent of his annual revenues in Israeli production.

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Section I: Transitional Provision from a Designated Channel Broadcaster Licence to a Minor Licence or a Minor Designated Licence

Transitional Provisions from a Designated Channel Broadcaster Licence to a Minor Licence or a Minor Designated Licence§
71i.
(a)A person who, on the eve of the commencement day, held a designated channel broadcaster licence may notify the Council in writing of the person's intention to submit an application for a television broadcasting licence as a minor licence holder or as a minor designated licence holder under paragraph (1) or (2) of the definition of "minor designated licence holder", all as the person shall specify in the notice (hereinafter – the transition notice); where the transition notice has been delivered, the applicant shall receive from the Council a conditional television broadcasting licence for a period not exceeding six months, provided that the applicant has submitted an application for a licence as aforesaid within three months of the date of the notice (hereinafter – licence application), and the applicant's designated channel broadcaster licence shall be suspended from the date of grant of the conditional licence until its cancellation as referred to in subsection (c).
(b)The Council shall decide, within three months of the date of submission of the licence application, whether to grant the applicant a licence, and may request from the applicant additional documents or information, within a period to be determined by the Council, for the purpose of making its decision; where the Council has decided to request additional documents or information, the Council shall extend the validity of the conditional licence for a period to be determined by the Council.
(c)A conditional licence shall expire upon any of the following:
(1)the holder of the conditional licence did not submit a licence application within the three months referred to in subsection (a);
(2)the holder of the conditional licence did not deliver to the Council, within the period determined by the Council, the documents or information that the Council required, as referred to in subsection (b);
(3)the Council decided to refuse to grant the holder of the conditional licence a television broadcasting licence as a minor licence holder or a minor designated licence holder.
(d)Where a conditional licence has expired, the suspension of the designated channel broadcaster licence shall cease, and the provisions applicable thereto under the Communications Law as worded immediately before the commencement day shall apply.
(e)Where the Council has decided to grant the applicant a licence as referred to in subsection (b), the applicant's designated channel broadcaster licence shall be cancelled upon the grant of the licence by the Council.
Transitional provisions in respect of one who was a holder of a designated channel broadcaster licence and received a minor licence or a minor designated licence§
71j.

The provisions of this Law shall apply to one who was a holder of a designated channel broadcaster licence and received a minor licence or a minor designated licence, including a conditional licence as referred to in section 71i, subject to the following provisions:

(1)He shall arrange to endorse the guarantees he submitted to the accountant of the Ministry of Communications in accordance with the Communications Law, in favour of the Authority, within 14 days of the accountant's approval of their endorsement, and notwithstanding the provisions of section 33a(a)(2)(a), guarantees so endorsed shall serve both to secure compliance with the provisions under this Law, the Council's rules and the conditions of the licence granted thereunder, and to secure his obligations under the Communications Law;
(2)During the transition period –
(a)the provisions of sections 33a(a)(2)(b) and 33b(a) shall not apply to him, and so long as no change has occurred in the holdings in the licence holder – the provisions of section 33a(b)(1) and (2) shall likewise not apply to him;
(b)he shall be exempt from the payment of annual licence fees under the provisions of section 99;
(c)notwithstanding the provisions of sections 6ah and 6bc of the Communications Law, his broadcasts shall be transmitted by a holder of a general licence for cable broadcasting and by a holder of a licence for satellite broadcasting without payment for their transmission;
(d)if one of the conditions enumerated in paragraphs (1) to (3) of section 41(b2) is fulfilled in respect of him and of a holder of him, the restrictions in those paragraphs, as the case may be, regarding a holding that existed on the eve of the commencement day shall not apply to them, provided that all of the following are fulfilled in respect of him:
(1)In at least 75 per cent of all his broadcasts, the special purpose determined in his designated channel broadcaster licence is fulfilled;
(2)He does not broadcast news broadcasts and programmes on current affairs;
(3)Means of control in the licence holder or in a corporation that holds, directly or indirectly, means of control in him have not been transferred to another, unless one of the following has occurred:
(a)As a result thereof, the means of control whose holding is prohibited or restricted pursuant to section 41(b2) were reduced;
(b)The means of control in a corporation as aforesaid were transferred to one who, on the eve of the commencement day, held, directly or indirectly, means of control in that corporation.
(e)A holder of a minor designated licence in whom what is stated in sub-paragraphs (d)(1) to (3) is fulfilled shall not be deemed a holder of a television broadcasting licence for the purposes of section 56;
(3)The provisions of section 41(b2)(4) shall not apply to a holder of a minor designated licence and to one who was a holder of a minor designated licence and became a holder of a minor licence, during the transition period – even if means of control in him were transferred to another, and upon the expiry of the transition period – only if they were not transferred to another; if a licence holder as aforesaid ceased to be a holder of a minor licence, the provisions of that section shall not apply until the expiry of two years from the day on which he ceased to be a holder of a minor licence, provided that the means of control in him were not transferred to another;
(4)One in whom a controlling shareholder, directly or indirectly, is also a controlling shareholder in a holder of a minor designated licence or seeks to be a controlling shareholder in a licence holder as aforesaid, excluding one who was an interested party in a holder of a television broadcasting licence on the eve of the commencement day, shall be exempt from the provisions of section 41(c)(1) and also from the provisions of section 36(b)(3) and (e) in respect of that section, for so long as the television broadcasting licence is a minor designated licence or until the expiry of the transition period, whichever is earlier; if a person as aforesaid exercised the exemption under this paragraph and a restriction of the restrictions enumerated in section 41(c)(1) applies to him, the said exemption shall apply to him until the expiry of two years from the day on which the licence holder in whom he is a controlling shareholder ceased to be a holder of a minor licence;
(5)Where a conditional licence was granted to one who was a holder of a designated channel broadcaster licence, the following provisions shall apply in respect of the exercise of powers towards him by the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council and by the Council:
(a)If proceedings were pending before the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council concerning breaches of the Communications Law, of provisions determined or issued thereunder or of his licence, committed by the licence holder, or if examinations were conducted or are to be conducted regarding the licence holder's compliance with conditions under that Law, under provisions determined or issued thereunder or under his licence, in respect of the period preceding the grant of the conditional licence, the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council shall complete its examinations and decide whether there were breaches and what obligations the licence holder must complete;
(b)Upon the grant of the conditional licence, actions for the purpose of completing the licence holder's obligations as referred to in sub-paragraph (a), including the taking of proceedings in respect of breaches that the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council determined the licence holder had committed, shall be taken by the Council; the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council shall transfer to the Council all the information required for this purpose;
(6)If the licence holder did not fulfil obligations he owed on the eve of the commencement day under the Communications Law or under the conditions of his licence, he shall expend, in each year, notwithstanding the provisions of section 71h(b), at least twenty per cent of his revenues for the purpose of fulfilling his said obligations, subject to the following provisions:
(a)The licence holder shall not be required to fulfil the said obligation in the year from the day of receipt of the conditional licence;
(b)Obligations that the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council determined could have been fulfilled by expenditure on local productions may be fulfilled by expenditure on the production of local productions, and no additional restrictions regarding the type of content of the local productions shall apply in this respect, provided that obligations to expend on a premium genre shall be fulfilled by expenditure on a premium genre;
(c)In respect of one to whom provisions regarding investment as referred to in the definition of "holder of a minor designated licence" apply, the expenditure obligation referred to in the preamble shall apply to him in addition to the investment as aforesaid.
Provisions in respect of one who continued to be a holder of a designated channel broadcaster licence§
71k.

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 71j, in respect of one who was a holder of a designated channel broadcaster licence on the eve of the commencement day, and did not submit a transition notice, did not submit an application for a licence or whose conditional licence was cancelled, all in accordance with the provisions of section 71i, the provisions of the Communications Law and the provisions of the Law for the Distribution of Broadcasts by means of Digital Broadcasting Stations, 5772-2012, as worded on the eve of the commencement day, shall continue to apply.

Transitional provisions in respect of a holder of a designated channel broadcaster licence in the Arabic language§
71l.

If a holder of a designated channel broadcaster licence in the Arabic language submitted a transition notice, the provisions of section 6ah3 of the Communications Law as worded on the eve of the commencement day shall continue to apply to him, until the grant of a minor licence or a minor designated licence, and if the Council decided to refuse to grant him a licence as aforesaid or his conditional licence lapsed, the provisions of section 71k shall apply to him.

Savings§
71m.
(a)Regulations, rules and provisions made or issued under this Law on the eve of the commencement day shall apply to a holder of a television broadcasting licence, including a holder of a minor licence and a holder of a minor designated licence, unless the amending Law contains a different provision that is irreconcilable with the said Regulations, rules or provisions.
(b)The Authority shall decide on disagreements as to whether a particular regulation, rule or provision is irreconcilable with the provisions of the amending Law.

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