Keshet Media Group
Keshet (Hebrew: קשת)is a media group and leading television maker licensed in Israel. It is one of the two concessionaires running the main Israeli commercial television channel, Channel 2 since 1993, varying from two to four days of broadcast a week; it operates under the auspices of the Second Israeli Broadcasting Authority (SBA). It's schedule consists of original drama series, entertainment shows, news shows, lifestyle programs and foreign programs.
Keshet also runs two full time cable channels: the Israeli Music Channel (Channel 24), the comedy channel Bip, as well as two internet inishiatvs: News and entertainment portal Mako and Israeli music encyclopidia MOOMA.
Formation
When Israeli Channel 2 was formed in 1993 it of three concessionaires; Keshet, Telad and Reshet. In 2005 a commitee was announced by the Second Israeli Broadcasting Authority to decide which 2 of the three would run the next phase of the then very profitable channel (one of the only two channels, along with channel 10 to be allowed to run commercials). Keshet won 1st place and Reshet 2nd. Keshet got four broadcasting days per week and Reshet two.
Keseht is located in a new high tech facility in the north of Tel Aviv.
Other key figures are head of Drama Ran Telem, strategic cieff Muli Segev, and various tv shows directors\producers such as Yoram Zac, Assaf Harel and Elad Kuperman.
Notable Productions
- "Moadon Layla" (Hewbrew for "Night Club") - panel stand up like talk show
- "Monit Hakesef" (Hebrew for "Money Taxi") - game show that takes place on a real time taxi
- "Rishon Babidur" (Hebrew for "No. 1 Entertainer") - one man show staring Dudu Topaz.
- "Big Brother" Keshet and Kuperman productions aired the Israeli version of Big Brother ten years after the format has been released to world TV markets. The show became a phenomenon heading the charts 16 weeks in a row with an average share of 31% ratings. Keshet also aired a celebrity "Big Brother VIP" season.
- "Polishuck" was aired in 2009, scripted and directed by the playwright Shmuel Azulai-Hasfari, an Israeli version of The Thick Of It, telling the story of a politically clueless man that enters politics almost by accident becoming the minister of Social Services, due to a new scandal in his own party, by which the other minister has to resigned. Rubi Polishuck (academy awards winner Sason Gabai) doesn’t have even the smallest idea about the critical issues in his office. In a sad humorist rather cynical way the drama is trying to characterize the ways of decision making around in within the corridor of government.
- "Kidnapped" Over the last 10 years, Israel had a lot of negotiations and military actions trying to release Israeli kidnapped soldiers by "Hizbalah" and "Hamas". Sadly apart from the story of Gilad Shalit which we all hope will have a happy ending in the next few weeks, all the other soldiers came back in a coffin. "Kidnapped" draftas a different story in which 2 out of 3 kidnapped soldiers coming back alive from the Lebanon prison trying to find the way back in to society normal life with the acceptance that must be made to all the changes that happened in the life of their love ones. "Kidnapped" is directed by Gidi Raff and was sold to Fox [1].
- "Ramzor" (Hebrew name for "Stoplight") is a comedy drama scripted by the main actor Adir Miller and Asaf Sarig dealing with relationships issues from the men point of view. 3 friends, each one in a different phase of the relationship. The married man is standing on the red light, can't move a finger without the approval of his control freak wife. The one having a stable relationship is standing on the yellow area which means his girlfriend keeps the leash very close to her, and his relatively freedom is only an illusion. The single guy is running free on the highway of one night stands. Each one of this guys gives a different interpretation for the terms of relationships between man and women through several comic situations.
- "The Ex", on 2008 Keshet sold CBS the copyrights for this drama. CBS created an American version The Ex List (starring Amanda Peet and Zach Braff) about a young lady that has been told by a fortune teller that if she will not find a true love by the end of the year she will never get married. She also told her that it means to be of her ex. This is the starting point of a new journey in which the star is trying to reunite, with whoever she had a relationship before trying to find the one.
- "Eretz Nehederet" the name of Israel #1 satire show that Keshet is run for 7 seasons. The show holds the head of rating charts whenever been on air. The show have such enormous affect on public politic discussion, that headlines about the show found it's place many times in the news section rather than in the entertainment one. Politicians claim to be highly affected or insulted from the representation of their own character in the show, other ones where highly benefited from the show, crossing the way from the back-lines of Israeli politics to the front line of the media attention. Many social conflicts between Israeli different political groups has been this show fuel in material. It appears that sometimes the ability to make a good satire about a certain issue allows to release some of the tension in the true field.
- "Uvda" is the Israeli 60 Minutes like news magazine, giving the audience a closer much deeper look over backyards and close doors of the place we think we know better. The show brought to the resignation of the Israeli chief of police, revealed illegal transactions of the military industry with foreign countries and forced many times the establishment of a special government committees to keep investigate subjects that has been brought to public awareness in the first time. These days Keshet is running the 16 season of the show .
Key People
Keshet's most prominent figures and founding father Olympic Committee member Alex Giladi. He is also one of Keshet's owners along with Haaim Saban, Mozi Vertahim, Gad Zeevi and Eyal Yona. Israeli Leumi Bank has stake in the company as well. Keshet CEO is Avi Nir, it's head of drama is Ran Telem, head of Mako portal and Bip comedy channel is Yuval Natan.
External links
- Official Keshet website Template:He icon
- Buisnessmann Yitzhak Teshuva buying Leumi's 20% stocks in Keshet from The Marker, Israel buisness daily
- Keshet and the Music channel merge, official Second Israeli Broadcasting Authority news release
- Keshet makes 76 Million NIS out of first Big Brother Season from Haaretz, Israeli daily news.