For 2019 Eurovision, it’s a question of KAN or can’t

Israel’s two-week extension to secure hosting the 2019 Eurovision song contest expires Tuesday. If KAN, the trade name of the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC), doesn’t cough up the €12 million deposit by then, the Jewish state will likely forfeit staging next year’s competition.

As the clock ticks down, IPBC officials blamed the government, while politicians pointed fingers at KAN, and at each other.

“If the government doesn’t give us the money, there won’t be a Eurovision,” a KAN spokeswoman told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

But Finance Minister Moshe

Kahlon and MK David Bitan, both of Likud, said Monday morning that the ball was in KAN’s court.

“The Eurovision is dependent only on the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation,” Kahlon told Ynet. “Nobody else is stopping it on the way. If the IPBC doesn’t want it, then the Eurovision won’t happen.”

Bitan told Army Radio on Monday that he doesn’t think the Eurovision will take place in Israel next year: “Kan [officials] aren’t willing to take a loan. They aren’t willing to make the deposit.”

Sources at the public broadcaster said the situation is more complicated.

“The IPBC can’t fund the production of the Eurovision competition from its budget,” a spokeswoman for KAN said in a statement Sunday night. “The budget is totally transparent and covers by law the activities of three TV channels and nine radio stations as well as its digital activities.”

KAN, whose 2018 budget stands at NIS 747 million, said it is “required by law to invest in content and original productions all year long.” The public broadcaster added “almost every other country given the privilege to host the Eurovision contributes to its budget,” earning the investment back with both tourism money and global exposure.

“All of our attempts to find a common solution have been ignored,” a KAN spokeswoman said Sunday, “and the government’s decision will unequivocally lead to giving up

the right to host the competition.”

KAN sources have said that even if it paid the €12 million, it can’t come up with the remaining funding for the competition alone, and would end up forfeiting the deposit and end up illegally in debt.

The IPBC said Monday morning that it is urging the relevant decision makers to sit together and decide on a budget with the Ministry of Finance.

Spokespersons for both the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Communications did not respond to requests for comment by Monday evening. The European Broadcasting Union – which is expecting the €12 million deposit by Tuesday – also declined to respond to a request for comment.

Labor leader Avi Gabbay told Army Radio on Monday afternoon that Kahlon could solve the funding crisis if he wanted to.

“This is political. It’s part of the fight [of] the government [which] wants to delegitimize the IPBC,” Gabbay said. “I’m calling on Kahlon to solve this problem – the State of Israel can easily give a security deposit on something this important.”

Opposition leader Tzipi Livni called instead on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to find a solution.

“[Israel’s hosting of] the Eurovision is in danger of being canceled and it will be on your head,” she addressed Netanyahu on Monday. “The public will not forgive you if we lose this exciting event over your petty and political quarrel with the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation.”

The Eurovision Song Contest, often abbreviated as Eurovision, is the flagship program of the European Broadcasting Union – an alliance of 72 public service media organizations in 56 countries, with 34 associate members from a further 20 states. Israel has won the competition four times since it was first held in 1956.

Netta Barzilai won this year for “Toy”, Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta won in 1978 with “A-Ba-Ni-Bi,” Gali Atari and Milk and Honey won the following year for “Hallelujah,” and Dana International won in 1998 for “Diva.”

Eurovision was hosted in Jerusalem in 1979 and 1999.

KAN (Hebrew: lit. ‘Here’), is the trade name of the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation which was established in 2017 to replace the Israel Broadcasting Authority.