The Israeli TV Industry: Small Country, Big Ambitions
by Levi Shapiro
The first broadcast in Israel was a military parade in 1968. The first commercial television industry did not even launch until 1993. This limited home market has taught a generation of content creators to cut costs and look for growth abroad.
In the words of comedy writer Omri Marcus ('It's A Wonderful Country'), "we are like a sweat shop from the Far East- only instead of Nike shoes we make cheap and smart content".
The Israel Audience Research Board (IARB) estimates 1.7 million Israeli TV households, 20% of which are non-Hebrew Arabs. Early programming successes were either political satire or imitations of foreign formats. As one Israeli producer joked, "it isn't stealing if one Jewish comedian borrows from another Jewish comedian".
Today the market is fragmented, with a public broadcaster, two broadcast networks and an 80% penetration rate for cable (HOT) and satellite (YES). Primetime broadcast is dominated by reality, led by Channel 2, which actually has two concessionaires. Channel 2's Sunday-Tuesday line-up is controlled by "Keshet", while Wednesday-Saturday programming is overseen by a different company, "Reshet". Those days will reverse in 2010.
Keshet leads the ratings race with reality programs like "Big Brother", "So You Think You Can Dance", "It's A Wonderful Country" and a singing competition. More recently, Keshet has begun exporting formats. According to Keren Shahar, Head of Formats & Acquisitions, "four years ago it was hard to schedule meetings with international buyers. Now people want to hear about what we are doing". This includes "The Vault", which aired in 18 territories, "The Successor" with Uri Geller (ten territories) and "The Mythological X".
The undisputed King of Israeli reality and game show formats is Erez Tal, Executive Producer of The Vault, Host of Big Brother and the creator of many popular shows. Tal launched his career on IDF (Israeli Defense Force) Radio, which is popular with a national audience and where many Israeli talents launched their careers. "Israel is a good lab for formats. We know how to make cost-effective prime time".
The launch of DTH satellite in 2000 forced cable to innovate. According to Udi Miron, CEO of cable network group Ananey, "the worst thing you can call an Israeli is a 'frier' (sucker). So the cable industry heavily promoted VOD to demonstrate value". Today Israel has one of the highest VOD penetration rates in the world. "Consumers will pay for value. Kids programming does especially well on SVOD. We created pay channels for food, health, travel, lifestyle and are beyond break-even with all of them".
On the global market, mention Israeli TV to most buyers and they will probably respond "telenovelas". Dori Media Group is the world leader, distributing about 5,000 hours of telenovela content to 65 countries and 450 TV channels, including "Lalola" that was sold to about 60 territories in only one year. This includes 15 owned and operated channels in Indonesia and other markets. In order to leverage alternative platforms, Dori Media Group recently launched Novebox.com, a social media and networking site focused on telenovelas. Nadav Palti is the President & CEO of Dori Media Group. "Every day, two billion people watch telenovelas. This is a very stable genre and demand remains high if you effectively promote, package and program". In addition to distributing TV formats, Dori Media Group also produces about 1,000 new hours yearly in Argentina and Israel.
Israel's small size makes it difficult for Producers who don't export. Avi Armoza left his role as SVP at JCS, Israel's largest studio, to create Armoza Formats. The company has sold formats in Europe and North America. "Development is the most expensive and risky part of television. Many territories may not be able to afford US and UK formats. Israeli shows can fill that need". Armoza's approach integrates content and technology. For example, 'The Smart Ace' is an original poker trivia game show, designed for niche channels and off-primetime in combination with the web.
Hagai Levi never created his dramatic series 'Be Tipul' to get rich. "You can live very well in Israel off of reality and game shows, but not drama. The Producer who only produces drama will be in trouble". After years of producing telenovels, the Creator and Executive Producer wanted to combine his interest in psychology with a cost-effective format. "Psychology is my hobby and my illness. I have been in therapy all of my life".
The format was sold to HBO and the series "In Treatment" is now in its second season, racking up an Emmy and five Golden Globe nominations, more than any other series. Other versions are in production in France, Russia, Italy, Portugal and Serbia. "Except for Serbia, those countries have much higher budgets than Israel. If it wasn't for the overseas business, I would have lost money".
In Treatment is 'Israeli' in the budgetary sense. "My intention was always to make it on the cheap...two actors, one location. For the telenovelas, I could write one episode every day. I truly believed that was possible for In Treatment. In fact, I needed an entire month to write each episode. So development took me 1.5 years before shooting".
What remains to be seen is if scripted Israeli formats can maintain relevance abroad. "Some of the plot lines, such as the Fighter Pilot, are too Israeli. We all felt that the second season requires a much deeper adaptation to make it more culturally relevant". Localization includes an entirely local writing team and new Showrunner, Warren Light, who was the Showrunner for Law & Order, Criminal Intent.
Hagai is not sure that other Israeli shows will have similar success abroad. "All of this is unbelievable. I showed up at a unique moment when the American networks were looking for ideas from abroad". For now, international buyers looking for cost-effective and creative formats are learning to say "shalom" to Israel.
