Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon is expected to set the payment due under Channel 10's license bid at NIS 2.5 million, sources inform "Globes." His predecessor in the job, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, set it at NIS 16.8 million. A hearing on the subject was conducted yesterday, and it appears that Kahlon has accepted the Ministry of Finance Budget Division's position on the subject.
Channel 10 submitted a request for a 15-year extension of its broadcasting license, which it is expected to be granted at the end of the month, subject to approval by the Second Broadcasting Authority. In order to obtain the license, Channel 10 must fulfill a series of requirements, including payment of a portion of the bid money it was to have paid for extension of its franchise. The bid is the amount that the Israel 10 franchise holder paid when it sought a franchise for operation of the channel. Since no additional amount was offered when the franchise was automatically extended without a tender, the Minister of Finance must determine a relative amount for the channel to pay in order to fulfill its obligations.
When the new government was formed, it turned out that in the final days of the previous government, a few hours before Netanyahu left his position as Minister of Finance (in place of MK Yair Lapid, whom he had fired), he signed a demand for payment of NIS 16.8 million in respect of this debt. Netanyahu took a harsh stance towards Channel 10 by accepting the position of the Second Broadcasting Authority, which recommended requiring the larger payment, against the opinion of the Ministry of Finance, which recommended limiting the amount the channel would have to pay to no more than NIS 5 million.
After Channel 10 petitioned the High Court of Justice on the matter, it was learned that Netanyahu's decision had no legal validity, and the petition was withdrawn. Yesterday, Kahlon held a hearing on the issue, attended by Channel 10 representatives and Ministry of Finance budget director Amir Levy. The Ministry of Finance said that the talks on the subject would be continued soon.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 23, 2015
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