Channel 8 (Israel)

Channel 8 was described at a March 2005 Knesset Science and Technology Committee hearing as a private cable channel produced by Noga Communications and carried on the HOT platform.[3] Participants characterized its programming as covering science, documentaries, enrichment, and culture, while the chair of the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council called it “almost the home” of documentaries produced for Israeli cable television.[3]

The channel’s early web presence, noted in the National Library of Israel’s timeline of the Israeli internet, provided information about broadcasts and programs, program recommendations, and suggestions for related websites.[4] A 2001 academic thesis documents the channel’s engagement with Israeli cultural and religious life through its broadcast of an Alma Hebrew College Passover Seder. The program explored the holiday’s historic and modern meanings, food, cleaning rituals, relationship to spring, and agricultural origins, and required substantial coordination between the college and the channel.[5]

The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council’s 2014 annual report recorded 51 hours of first-run local production on Channel 8, all externally produced. It also recorded 5,135 hours of non-live programming, all of which were subtitled.[6]

An April 2012 anniversary feature marked 20 years since Channel 8’s establishment, placing its founding around 1992 without giving an exact date.[1] Noga Communications, part of the RGE group, produced the channel for about 20 years and was credited in reporting on the subsequent handover with shaping its editorial identity.[7][8]

Sini Avt led the channel for eight years before stepping down in 2009, having worked there for 11 years in roles that included copywriter, creative manager, and programming manager.[2] Documentary production developed during his tenure, with works including Cemetery Club, Checkpoints, Beloved Bil’in, and Jerusalem in Pride.[2] Channel 8 was also a partner in Waltz with Bashir. An anniversary feature described Aviv Giladi and the channel as the “X factor” that helped bring Ari Folman’s film to fruition alongside support from the Israeli Film Fund, while Ynet noted the film’s international awards and Oscar nomination.[1][2]

In 2011, Channel 8 launched a website combining on-demand viewing with personalized schedules and social features, including messaging and video chat.[9] Its archive offered access to previously broadcast films, programs, series, and specials, and documentary creators could submit proposals for possible development into full films.[9]

The arrangement between Noga Communications and HOT was due to end in late 2012, with production passing to Haim Slutzky’s company in 2013.[7][8] A December 2012 Globes item reported that the incoming production company purchased the channel’s archive from Noga for several million shekels.[7] Noga said it had expected its contract to be renewed and objected to the change, while Slutzky said HOT had solicited proposals from several companies and that the transfer had been smooth.[8] Creators expressed concern that the channel’s deep, high-quality character could become more ratings-oriented. Dari Shai said the new team intended to retain a culturally substantive channel while emphasizing human experience and emotional storytelling and reaching audiences beyond Tel Aviv.[8]

One of Channel 8’s signature programs was the daily science magazine News of Science (חדשות המדע), which began broadcasting on March 17, 2003, as part of a change in the channel’s programming concept.[3] Presented by Tal Berman, it covered Israeli science, research, discoveries, and technology in a magazine format and interviewed scientists rather than politicians.[3] By the March 2005 Knesset hearing, 220 episodes and about 55 compilation programs had been produced, and the show also appeared on the children’s enrichment channel Logi.[3]

The hearing was convened after the program was reportedly due to leave the schedule for lack of resources.[3] Noga’s CEO supported continuing the program but said the company lacked sufficient resources, while HOT’s CEO pointed to financial and regulatory obligations, including local-news requirements.[3] The council chair said another season had been secured through an arrangement involving repayment of cable-company debts and undertook to examine whether obligations could be adjusted. The protocol does not record a binding decision requiring the channel to retain the program.[3]

A team member illustrated the program’s reach by recounting a message sent to Berman by a viewer who initially watched because she liked the presenter but later decided to study chemistry in high school.[3]

The channel’s 2014 output, as recorded by the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, included several local productions.[6] Route 90, a five-part social series by Anat Zeltzer and Mudi Bar-On, followed a journey along Route 90 and explored what the report called “Israel’s backyard.”[6] King of the Jews was a one-part program about the life and death of Haim Nahman Bialik. A three-part series examined the Israeli social labels “arsim” and “frechas,” their representation in the media, and their place in society.[6]

The channel has also carried significant Holocaust-related documentary programming. In January 2022, HOT8 aired David Fisher’s The Round Number, which investigates how the figure of six million Jewish Holocaust victims became established and culturally significant.[10] Holocaust-remembrance programming announced for 2026 included a ten-part presentation of Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah and The Politics of Memory.[11] Directed by Duki Dror, The Politics of Memory examines how political, social, and cultural changes shaped Israeli Holocaust memory over eight decades, including after October 7 and during the war against Hamas.[11][12]

Channel 8’s significance lay partly in its sustained support for Israeli documentary production. The chair of the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council described it in 2005 as “almost the home” of cable documentaries in Israel.[3] Anniversary coverage highlighted documentary series by Mudi Bar-On and Anat Zeltzer that revisited familiar subjects such as Tel Aviv-Jaffa and the kibbutz from fresh perspectives.[1] Its support for Waltz with Bashir, together with the range of documentaries produced during Sini Avt’s management, connected the channel with works that achieved both domestic prominence and international recognition.[1][2]

Now branded HOT 8, the channel remains available to HOT subscribers and continues to carry documentary and cultural programming.[12] Some programming is also available through HOT VOD and Next TV.[11] At the 2024 Docu.Text Festival at the National Library of Israel, the Israeli premiere of We Will Dance Again was scheduled before its later HOT 8 broadcast, which was intended to mark one year since the October 2023 attacks.[13]

The 2012 transition from Noga Communications to new producers was disputed. Noga said it expected its contract to be renewed, while Slutzky maintained that HOT had sought proposals from several companies and that the handover was orderly.[8] Reporting about the channel’s archive was also inconsistent: one Globes item said rights to the 20-year library would remain with RGE, while a later item reported that the incoming company purchased the archive from Noga for several million shekels. The reports did not clarify how the two accounts fit together.[7]

The 2022 documentary The Round Number, broadcast on HOT8, attracted controversy for examining how the figure of six million Holocaust victims became culturally established. Yad Vashem historian Dina Porat expressed concern that the film could call Holocaust memory into question, while director David Fisher said he was not seeking a definitive count.[10]