Arutz HaYeladim

Arutz HaYeladim evolved through several programming models. Its early broadcasts centered on acquired children’s series and short presenter interludes; from 1993, live programs and school competitions became defining features.[2][3] Around 2005, changing viewing habits and video-on-demand shifted emphasis toward original daily dramas and the stars of scripted series.[2] Its distribution later moved among television providers, including Partner TV, Cellcom TV, HOT, and yes.[5][4]

Arutz HaYeladim began cable test broadcasts in April 1989, followed shortly afterward by full programming that included cartoons, series, competitions, and quiz shows.[1] It was established within the cable-channel framework created by I.C.P., which Udi Miron founded in 1988. I.C.P. established four channels—sports, movies, family, and children—and was reported to have a budget of $1.5 million.[2] Miron became Arutz HaYeladim’s first general manager.[2]

The channel initially relied mainly on children’s series, with presenters appearing between programs.[2] Its early schedule included about two hours a day of acquired programming; presenter segments began in 1991.[3] The small staff and limited resources shaped the production style. Former presenter Sharon Kantor recalled that she became a presenter partly because she was nearby and articulate, and that for a time the channel’s only formal employees were her and producer Shai Avivi.[2]

Michal Yanai recalled that a month’s worth of material could be filmed in a single day. She described assembling a school-themed set from stationery-store supplies and borrowing clothes from shops.[2] These recollections illustrate the lean, improvised production conditions of the channel’s early period.

A teachers’ strike in May 1993 prompted a major expansion into live broadcasting: the channel aired live for a week for children staying at home, and the strong response led to the summer program “Kadur Poraḥ” (“Hot Air Balloon”).[3] Its success was followed during the school year by “HaKita HaMeʿofefet” (“The Flying Classroom”), which continued the live format.[3] A retrospective later called this period the channel’s “golden age.”[3]

The game show “Sheshetus,” created by screenwriter Giora Hamitzer, began in 1994 as a daily segment and became a standalone program about three years later.[6] School classes from around Israel competed in challenges for a trip abroad; each season concluded with a final and a filmed trip for the winning class.[6] Former presenter Tal Mosseri recalled the intensity around the show’s score wall, where children screamed and cried as they waited to learn whether their class had won.[2] He also said government ministers and business leaders contacted the channel to ask how their children’s classes could take part.[2] In January 2015, the channel announced that “Sheshetus” in its then-current format would leave the schedule as it prepared a new class-competition program.[6]

Other notable programming in the mid-1990s included “Hugo,” an interactive television game that premiered in summer 1994, and “6 Plus,” an evening block of imported American series that began that year.[3] Live shows and presenters became highly popular. A former presenter recalled that in summer 1993 Channel 2 had not yet launched and the channel had no comparable competitor.[3] By 1996, the channel’s annual budget had risen to about $17 million, according to former manager Miron.[2]

A 1998 rebrand marked a shift toward original series with higher production values, commercial influences, and reality programming.[2] The channel’s public image gradually moved away from the familiar presenter as a “big brother” figure toward presenters associated with reality television and a more polished style.[2]

In 2002, the channel’s producer, Noga Communications, announced plans to spend about NIS 15 million on original productions by the end of the year, including new seasons of existing series.[7] Manager Karni Plazental-Ziv said that expanding original programming was partly intended to support children staying at home amid a tense security situation.[7] Planned programs included “Ḥamesh VaḤetzi” (“Five-Thirty”), a live children’s current-affairs show hosted by Yaron London with young presenters, and “Patu’aḥ BaḤofesh HaGadol” (“Open During Summer Vacation”), which offered at-home activities such as cooking, woodworking, juggling, and magic.[7]

The same announcement described about NIS 10 million in original productions planned for the September–December season. These included new seasons of the drama “HaYeladim MiGivʿat Napoleon” (“The Children from Napoleon Hill”) and the docudrama “Ein Ḥaya Kazot” (“There’s No Such Animal”), along with additional drama and sitcom projects.[7]

The spread of video-on-demand around 2005 brought another format change. Former content staffer Giora Hamitzer said that viewing habits shifted, live broadcasting ended, and the channel’s focus moved from presenters to stars of original scripted series.[2] He identified “HaShminiya,” the channel’s first original daily drama, as a turning point in the move toward series production and competition between HOT and yes for program distribution.[2] Hamitzer summarized the change by saying the channel had gone from “a real home for viewers who watched whatever was on” to a production body measured by its products.[2]

The National Library of Israel’s exhibition on the Israeli internet lists the channel’s website in a section labeled “1996” and describes Arutz HaYeladim as formerly known as Channel 6 on cable.[8] The site combined practical information, including the broadcast schedule and program details, with interactive games and a forum community.[8] The exhibition’s date label documents the website’s appearance in that section but does not specify when either the channel or its website began.[8]

In 2017, Arutz HaYeladim left yes and was set to leave HOT when its contract ended; RGE was identified at the time as the channel’s owner.[5] RGE said Partner TV and Cellcom TV had signed long-term agreements to carry it, with the channel’s accumulated program library to be available on those platforms.[4] The library included titles such as “Galis,” “Elisha,” “HaShminiya,” “Arthur,” and “HaPijamot.”[4] HOT planned to replace the channel with a children’s service produced by Slutzky Communications and separately negotiated to keep some RGE programs in its video-on-demand library.[4]

These reports concerned carriage on particular services rather than an announcement that the channel had stopped broadcasting altogether.[4] A report dated February 15, 2024, said that Arutz HaYeladim had returned to Partner TV with original productions and acquired series.[9] The offerings named in that report included “Pokémon,” “Inazuma,” “Arthur,” “The Croods,” and “King Julien,” as well as Israeli productions including “HaPijamot,” “Galis,” “HaBanim VeHaBanot,” “Elisha,” “HaShminiya,” and “Oboy.”[9]

Arutz HaYeladim’s cultural prominence was associated with its original studio segments, recognizable presenter lineup, live shows, and programs that drew participation from schools.[2][2] The reported daily audience figure—about 82% of cable- and satellite-subscribed children aged 5–13 in a survey cited in 2005—offers an indication of its reach among that group.[2] Its format and role changed over time, from acquired series and presenter interludes to live broadcasts and, later, original scripted productions.[1][2][3]

Assessments of the channel’s cultural effect have differed. In a 2005 article, sociologist Oz Almog argued that the channel’s arrival diminished the educational emphasis in children’s television in favor of entertainment.[2] This is an attributed interpretation of its impact, rather than a measure of the channel’s effects.