On Monday, I reported that Israeli viewing habits are changing, leaning more rightward, and Channel 14 is taking off as Israelis tire of left-wing propaganda in their news (Israel’s Right-Wing Channel 14 Ratings Soaring as Viewers Abandon Left-Wing Propaganda Channels). Well, on Tuesday night, Channel 14’s highest-rated show, “The Patriots,” planted itself in second place in the ratings.
In first place, way ahead of the competition, for the top-rated channel came 12, which launched its heralded reality program, “Seeing the Voice,” based on a Korean show named “I Can See your Voice.” Channel 12 took 18.4%, with 528,000 viewers. But second place was grabbed by Yinon Magal’s “The patriots” which took 6.8%, with 240,000 viewers.
By the way, Walla headlined its critique of the new Channel 12 show: “We watched this joke. At Keshet, they really think the audience will simply watch anything that’s broadcast at nine o’clock.” It’s a lengthy headline, but you need many words to pack this much contempt.
Keshet Media Group, a.k.a. the Keshet company, is the owner of Channel 12 and the online news outlet Mako.
Channel 13’s biggest rating getter, “Moment of Truth,” only scratched 5.5%, with 163,000 viewers. And Kan 11, the public channel, dragged behind with its prime time drama “East Side” (about clandestine Jewish real estate purchases in eastern Jerusalem), with only 3.9% and 106,000 viewers.
The thing is, though, that while the other three channels spent many millions on their prime-time shows, Yinon Magal’s show on 14 sticks by the cheapest format, a panel of smart, occasionally angry but also funny C group media personalities, a responsive audience, lots of pathos and some humor. It’s all about content, and the fact that Israel’s mainstream media have crossed a red line in becoming propaganda channels fighting the government’s judicial reform.
