Channel 1 (Israel)

Channel 1 (Hebrew: הערוץ הראשון‎, HaArutz HaRishon, lit. The First Channel) is one of the oldest television channels in Israel (with only the Israeli Educational Television being older) and one of five terrestrial channels in the country (along with Channel 2, Channel 10, Channel 33 and the Knesset Channel). Run by the Israel Broadcasting Authority, it started broadcasting on 2 May 1968, and is largely funded through a television licence, though there are some adverts. The channel is supposed to move to commercial broadcasting by 2015, possibly even being replaced by a new "Channel 1".

History

The law creating the Israel Broadcasting Authority was passed by the Knesset on 6 June 1965, with the television channel starting broadcasts on 2 May 1968. Initially in black and white, colour television was used from 13 January 1982, although occasional colour transmissions had been made earlier, most notably the Egyptian president's visit to Israel in 1977 and the Eurovision Song Contest 1979.