Zoom (Israeli Children's TV Channel)

Zoom was announced in December 2012 as a new children's channel from the Saban Group, and HOT said it would replace the Children's Channel in its basic package.[3] HOT offered that package for a promotional price of NIS 129 per month, compared with the regular price of NIS 149.[3]

By March 2017, Zoom was carried simultaneously by HOT and yes.[2] In October 2017, Partner TV also carried Zoom, while Cellcom TV did not.[5] Regulatory records listed Zoom among yes's children's channels in 2014, and in 2019 it appeared in the formal children's-channels category alongside Disney and Nickelodeon.[1][6]

Zoom was described in 2012 as a new Saban Group channel.[3] By 2016, Imagine Media was identified as involved in the channel in partnership with Aryeh Saban, brother of Haim Saban.[7] A profile published that year characterized Zoom as giving the Children's Channel and Nickelodeon a substantial competitive challenge.[7]

The available reports identified several parties associated with Zoom but did not provide a complete breakdown of its ultimate ownership.[8][7]

In 2014, Zoom carried 21 hours of first-run local production for HOT, including four hours of externally produced programming.[1] Two listed productions were the sitcom Moadon Hahanunim ("Nerd Club"), comprising 25 episodes of 30 minutes each, or 12.5 hours, and Iti VeAtzani ("Slow and Furious"), comprising 16 episodes of 30 minutes each, or 8 hours. Both had first-broadcast dates of 16 February 2014.[1]

In February 2016, Susei Pere ("Wild Horses") was presented as a new daily drama on Zoom. It was set at a horse farm where wealthy children trained and competed, with the premise changing when the owner brought in teenagers assigned community service as part of an experimental project.[9] In January 2017, HOT had planned to launch the original children's production Tzfuf on Zoom but postponed it amid the broader dispute over the Children's Channel, instead bringing forward a new season of Elisha.[10]

Zoom also aired acquired international programming. In 2015, the South African children's brand Super Strikas was cited as an example of a Zoom program that had outrated competing channels.[4] Disney executive Helen Atchi responded that one successful series did not ensure sustained relevance, noting: "One program is excellent, but what about the second program? It's hard to remain relevant over time."[4]

By 2015, Zoom was described as one of at least four channels sharing the leading position in Israeli children's television at different times, alongside the Children's Channel, Nickelodeon, and Disney.[4]

In March 2017, Zoom was among the children's channels carried simultaneously by HOT and yes, alongside Nickelodeon, Disney, Junior, Nick Jr., Disney Junior, Hop!, Luli, and Baby.[2] Ananey Communications CEO Orly Atlas Katz put the market at approximately one million children and eight different children's channels competing for their attention.[2]

For HOT in 2014, Zoom's reported programming totaled 8,736 hours, of which 6,389 hours, or 73.1%, were subtitled—well above the listed 25% obligation.[1] The same report grouped Zoom under "remaining channels" in its subtitling-compliance tables, despite listing it as a children's channel elsewhere.[1]

By 2019, Zoom was included in the children's-channels category, which carried a 50% subtitling obligation for dubbed recorded programming and defined peak viewing hours as 14:00–18:00.[6] On yes, 8,213 of 8,758 hours of recorded programming were subtitled, or 93.8%; on HOT, the figure was 8,310 of 8,747 hours, or 95.0%.[6] Among dubbed recorded programming, yes reported 2,670 of 2,930 hours subtitled, or 91.1%, while HOT reported 1,781 of 1,994 hours, or 89%.[6] During peak hours, yes reported 42 of 51 dubbed hours subtitled, or 82.4%, and HOT reported all 22 hours subtitled.[6]

During a 2013 Knesset Economic Affairs Committee debate, Hop group founder Alona Avt raised uncertainty about Zoom's ownership, saying she could not establish whether the channel was Israeli-owned or whether its brand was Israeli.[8] Another participant described it as a local channel.[8] The committee record, whose primary subject was a proposed low-cost cable-and-satellite package, did not resolve Zoom's ultimate ownership.