Eurovision 2019 🇮🇱 KAN confirms guarantee payment to the EBU

ISRAEL – With hours left on the clock, the Finance Ministry and the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation have signed a deal to keep the Eurovision song contest in Israel. IPBC, known as KAN, will send a 12 million euro security deposit to the European Broadcasting Union by the end of the day, ensuring the competition be held in Israel.

Earlier this morning EBU dispatched a fan e-mail to all Eurovision.tv subscribers talking about how they work closely with KAN to find the proper venue for the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest.

After a marathon day of negotiations, KAN and the Finance Ministry agreed to a deal in which the broadcaster will take out a loan to cover the deposit. As part of the deal, the ministry as promised that, if for any reason, the deposit is forfeited, the government will work to help KAN repay the loan.

“The IPBC believes that the government of Israel will do everything in its capabilities to ensure a worthy and respectable Eurovision and to stand by its commitments,” KAN officials said Tuesday after the deal was signed.

Sources in KAN said that Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon vowed that the government would help in funding the overall Eurovision production – and it expected him to live up to that.

Funding for the entire competition, slated for May 2019, could cost up to 35 million euro – approximately NIS 150 million. KAN’s 2018 budget stood at NIS 747 million.

KAN added Tuesday that it will be working with the Treasury to come to a deal on the overall budget and funding sources.
Earlier this month, KAN asked for and received a two-week extension from the EBU to pay the deposit. Since then, it has blamed the government for its inability to pay, and said taking out a loan could leave it illegally in debt. In turn, government officials said KAN is the one responsible for the competition’s funding and was not acting responsibly.

Eurovision 2019 🇮🇱 Crisis Averted After Israel and Public Broadcaster Reach Deal

ISRAEL – The Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation will take out a $13.5-million loan to help cover the cost of hosting the event. A solution appears in the offing to a funding dispute between Israel’s public broadcasting corporation and the government that could have deprived the country of the right to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest. In return, the Finance Ministry will commit to cover the loan amount if the competition is ultimately not held in Israel due to extenuating circumstances such as war or boycott.

Eurovision 2019 🇮🇱 Tel Aviv Mayor offers help and mocks the chaos

ISRAEL – According to Israeli officials involved in the Eurovision production, the alternative means hosting the competition in the second-place finisher, Cyprus, which will not be able to finance the event, and so Austria will likely get to host as the third-place finisher.

Meanwhile, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai has offered to help fund the Eurovision. “Once again, there is no responsible adult. Just like they chased (Argentine soccer star) Messi from Israel, now they’re chasing the Eurovision away,” Huldai lamented in a Facebook post.

“The event, which is broadcast to billions around the world (and it doesn’t matter which city hosts it), will give exposure to the beautiful Israel many in the world don’t know. The Tel Aviv municipality is willing to contribute to the national effort by covering the costs for the venue—a main expense in organizing the event,” he went on to say. “Perhaps this would help those who are once again climbing trees instead of finding solutions.”

This would not be the first time Israel renounces the right to host the Eurovision Song Content. In 1980, after Israel won the competition with the song “Hallelujah,” Israel could not host the competition due to financial issues the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was experiencing at the time. Furthermore, the date set for the Eurovision fell on Israel’s Memorial Day for IDF soldiers, leading the government to decide not to participate in the competition at all.

Eurovision 2019 🇮🇱 PM Netanyahu threatens to shut down KAN

ISRAEL – Hours after the revelation that KAN issued a warning to the Prime Minister that if he does’t pay 12 million Euros tomorrow at the EBU for the bak guarantee they will withdraw from hosting the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, Benjamin Netanyahu lashed against them saying that if KAN don’t fulfil their obligation tomorrow and withdraw from the hosting of the event, he will issue through the parliament the immediate shut down of KAN.

The escalated relations between KAN and the government continues. KAN argues that if they pay 12 million Euros tomorrow they will have to fire 200 employees or cancel a number of productions. KAN is also to willing to take a loan because there is no guarantee especially with the tension in the region. If a war happens in the region and the contest removed from Israel even the last minute, the broadcaster will be under a huge debt.

Tomorrow is a crucial day!

Eurovision 2019 🇮🇱 in development: the government says will not fund the hosting of the event!

ISRAEL – The finance minister says the government has no intention of assisting the Israel Public Broadcast Corporation in funding the production of the Eurovision Song Contest; Kahlon: ‘If the IPBC does not want to host it, the Eurovision will not happen.’

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said on Monday that the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC or “Kan” in Hebrew) would make a “grave mistake” if it gives up on hosting the Eurovision Song Contest because of its refusal to transfer 12 million euro as a guarantee to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

“The corporation has made a grave mistake. It has to manage its affairs like any other government body. Its attempts to tie the situation to politics are erroneous. They are able to transfer the sum in a minute. If they do not transfer the guarantee, they will make a grave mistake, which will be contrary to the rules and regulations,” stressed Kahlon in an interview with Ynet.

The Finance Minister went on to say that there is no justifiable reason for 2019 Eurovision not to be held in Israel.

“There is no reason why the contest shouldn’t be held in Israel. The situation is a result of a professional fight between those in the IPBC and the treasury … the IPBC is a government body, it is financed by the taxpayers’ money and it has to operate according to the rules and regulations,” he concluded.

The IPBC issued an immediate statement addressing Kahlon’s remarks.

“We have been saying all along that the IPBC is unable to foot the bill of the production cost. If the government decides to finance it, the Eurovision will be held in Israel. The IPBC once again urges the decision makers to sit down and reach an agreement over budget with the treasury,” read the official statement.

“The finance minister also insisted he has no intentions of interfering in the affairs of the IPBC, suggesting the company is capable of solving the crisis on their own.

“There is no reason for intervention … They need to do what everyone else does, what’s the story here? Suspect my commitment? I almost broke up the coalition and put my political career on the line in order for IPBC to be established … The only politicians in this story are the IPBC people. Whether the Eurovision will be held in Israel depends only on the IPBC, and there is no one stopping them. If the IPBC does not want to host it, the Eurovision will not happen,” he emphasized.

The production cost of the Eurovision in Israel is estimated at 35 million euro, and the IPBC was supposed to transfer the guarantee to the EBU by August 1.

The EBU has agreed to give the IPBC an extension until August 14, but the issue of where the money will come from has not yet been resolved.

Israel won the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest with Netta Barzilai’s “Toy,” granting it the right to host next year’s competition.

But despite his enthusiasm over the win, the prime minister refuses to allocate a budget for the competition, arguing the money should come from the IPBC’s annual budget.

“The prime minister and the finance minister have decided a body budgeted at the enormous amount of NIS 750 million at the expense of the public can find the funds for a guarantee for the Eurovision. The IPBC is being wasteful and trying to sabotage the Eurovision,” a source close to Netanyahu said.

The IPBC, meanwhile, claims it would not be able to take the money out of its own budget unless it fires 200 employees or cuts down on original productions.

The IPBC explained that its budget is “completely transparent and covers, by law, diverse activity in three TV channels, nine radio stations and additional online activity.”

The finance minister also addressed the prime minister’s statement on Sunday suggesting that he will announce a snap election if a solution to the IDF Draft Law is not found.

“I do not see how this problem can be solved. Litzman says, ‘If you do not change it, I will resign.’ Lieberman says, ‘If you change it, I will resign.’ I believe both of them, which is why I believe that the Knesset will be dispeerd at the beginning of a winter session.

“I think that politically, no one wants snap elections … Everyone would have prefered to drag this out until the next term … Politically … I am committed to the coalition agreements. I am comfortable, I know what I signed and what I will approve,” Kahlon concluded.

Eurovision 2019 🇮🇱 Broadcaster gives Netanyahu ultimatum over Eurovision funding

ISRAEL – The Kan public broadcaster on Sunday warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it would pull out hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest if the government does not help it with a €12 million ($14 million) security guarantee.

The government has refused to give any money to the broadcaster, claiming that its annual budget is sufficient to cover the costs, Hadashot news reported, adding that the government believes the broadcaster was playing a game of chicken to increase its funding.

The head of the broadcaster, Gil Omer, sent a warning letter to Netanyahu saying the deadline for making the payment to the European Broadcasting Union already expired, but it received an extension until August 14.

“This is the point of no return. Afterwards, if the required deposit is not given to the EBU, it will be impossible to change the situation and the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest will not be able to be held in Israel,” the letter stated.

“For the past two weeks we have exerted much effort to inform the decision makers of the difficulties we face in order to make every effort to solve them,” Omer wrote. “Unfortunately, our repeated requests for intensive work to solve the serious problems that stand in the way of hosting the competition in Israel have not been answered.”

In addition to the deposit, it is expected to cost NIS 157 million ($42 million) to host the song contest. Even after the revenues earned by the broadcaster, it will face a shortfall by some NIS 104 million ($28 million), The Marker business news site reported. Kan wants the government to top up its budget to cover these costs.

However, it appeared unlikely Kan would get its money.

“The broadcasting authority is trying to destroy the Eurovision with its wasteful attitude,” a source close to Netanyahu was quoted as saying by Hebrew media.

“The prime minister and the finance minister decided that a body which receives NIS 750 million in public funding can find the budget for the Eurovision guarantee,” he said.

Israel won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in two decades on May 12, as Netta Barzilai won with the women’s empowerment anthem “Toy.”

Barzilai’s win meant Israel would host next year’s Eurovision competition — an event expected to bring thousands of fans and worldwide exposure to the Jewish state.

At first Israel insisted that the competition must be held in the capital, Jerusalem. But after backlash from the organizers, who threatened to find another host country, Netanyahu instructed his government to keep quiet on the issue. Several cities in Israel are expected to vie to host the contest.

Another threat to Israel hosting the competition is a threatened lawsuit by a major US record label which charged that the composers of the Israeli entry infringed their copyright.

Universal Music Studios, one of the world’s biggest music companies, in recent weeks sent a pre-suit notice letter to Doron Medalie and Stav Berger, who jointly wrote the winning song, Netta Barzilai’s “Toy,” saying it was copied from The White Stripes’ 2003 hit, “Seven Nation Army.”