Keshet Media Group

Keshet Media Group broadcasts in Israel on Channel 12.[1] In 2018, Keshet, Reshet, and Channel 10 were Israel's three commercial broadcasting entities in a market where five major media-buying companies handled advertising purchases.[5] Dozens of advertising agencies operated alongside these buyers, and larger buyers held stronger negotiating positions with television channels.[5] More than 75 percent of commercial television channels' advertising revenue flowed through the major media-buying companies.[5] An opinion submitted to the Second Authority for Television and Radio Council estimated that reducing concentration could increase commercial channels' annual revenues by NIS 60–125 million at media-buying companies' expense.[5] The report also noted that broadcasters carried relatively fixed production and content-acquisition obligations while advertising revenue remained uncertain.[5]

Israel's former Channel 2 was split in 2017 into two competing networks, Keshet and Reshet, which had previously shared the channel's broadcast rights.[6] The transition from concession-based broadcasting to licenses issued by the Second Authority for Television and Radio required both networks to broadcast seven days a week, increasing their expenditures and the advertising time they sold while deepening their dependence on major media-buying companies.[5] Following a later merger between Reshet and Channel 10, Keshet became the sole owner of the Hadashot news network that had previously been shared by the two broadcasters.[6]

Keshet International was established in 2012 as the company's international arm, building a network of production companies and distribution hubs that has included offices in Tel Aviv, Keshet UK, Tresor and Keshet Tresor Fiction in Germany, Keshet Studios in the United States, and a majority stake in Britain's Greenbird Media.[3] Keren Shahar became CEO of Keshet International in January 2023, succeeding Alon Shtruzman after his decade in the role.[3]

CEO Avi Nir articulated the scale of Keshet's international ambition when ABC and NBC approved series created or produced by the company: "This is an important milestone for Keshet, which decided a few years ago that it is not only a broadcasting company, but an Israeli and international content company."[7] Keshet TV distributed programs including "Dig," "Homeland," and "Tyrant" to audiences worldwide.[8]

Keshet Studios renewed its first-look agreement with Universal Television for the third time in 2021.[9] Under that agreement, the company developed "The A Word," based on its Israeli drama "Yellow Peppers," and "Ties That Bind," based on the Australian miniseries "Secret Bridesmaids' Business," for NBC.[9] NBC also picked up Keshet Studios' drama "La Brea" during the same period.[9] At the 2013 Cannes MIPTV festival, Keshet sold six television formats to China's Shixi Media: "It's A Wonderful Country" ("Eretz Nehederet"), "Master Class," "Girlfriends," "The Big Ten," "50 Things You Have to Know," and "Remember Me."[2]

Keshet's international portfolio includes "Prisoners of War," the Israeli series adapted by Showtime as "Homeland" and acquired by Hulu as that platform's first foreign-language exclusive in the United States.[4] The company has also developed and distributed "When Heroes Fly," adapted as Apple TV+'s "Echo 3," and "False Flag," adapted as Apple TV+'s "Suspicion."[3] Its international distribution portfolio has further included the formats "The Money Drop," "Make Me A Baby," and "MasterChef."[3]

In 2023, Keshet International sold the Israeli thriller "Trust No One" to Netflix. The series was scheduled to premiere in Israel on both Netflix and Keshet 12 in November and to be shown in 19 countries.[1] Created by Ron Leshem, Amit Cohen, Daniel Amsel, and Ofir Lobel, the series stars Yehuda Levi as the youngest head of Israel's Shin Bet, whose agency is targeted by a cyberattack.[1]

Keshet's 2023 Israeli slate committed NIS 100 million — nearly $30 million — to new dramas, with six series premiering on Keshet 12 and four additional productions in filming.[10] Titles included "Third Body," "The Head," "No One Leaves Palo Alto," "The Cops," "The Daughter," "Lovesick," "Corona Hotel," and "Law of Souls."[10] "The Cops" drew on real events from the early 2000s involving Nahariya police officers who retaliated against a local criminal organization by manufacturing and detonating explosive devices.[10] Reflecting on the volume of output, Avi Nir remarked at the 2023 presentation: "We're producing more dramas than there are branches of Golda" — a reference to Israel's nationwide ice-cream chain.[10]

Keshet's international reach is reflected in the adaptation of Israeli-origin properties by services including Showtime and Apple TV+.[3][4] It also licensed formats to China's Shixi Media and sold "Trust No One" to Netflix for release in 19 countries.[2][1]

Keshet acquired its 60-percent stake in British production company Greenbird Media from BBC Worldwide — now BBC Studios — in 2018.[11] In 2023, it sold that stake to Scottish media group STV as part of a transaction valuing 100 percent of Greenbird at £23 million.[11] Keshet stated that it would invest the proceeds in additional scripted content and distribution, maintaining a focus on productions including "Suspicion," "Echo 3," the eight-part crime drama "Rough Diamonds," and "A Small Light."[11]

In 2019, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly accused Keshet executives and major shareholders of influencing Channel 12 crime reporter Guy Peleg, characterizing their alleged conduct as a "terror attack against democracy."[12] Netanyahu identified Avi Nir as Keshet's CEO, Avi Weiss as CEO of its news company, and Yitzhak Tshuva and Drorit Wertheim as major shareholders.[12] These were Netanyahu's political allegations; they were not established as proven findings by the cited reporting.[12]