1'NTP RTA I N MF N T

ENTERTAINMENT

Artwork from the Baltimore Sun by Paul Roberts. Copyright* 1990, Baltimore Sun. Distributed by Los Angeles Times Syndicate

E-
a

Hooked On Cable

A television
revolution
is sweeping
the Israeli
landscape.

NECHEMIA MEYERS

Special to The Jewish News

B

y the end of the year,
there will be some
Israeli households
hooked up to cable TV, but
the Meyers household will not
be among them.
When the sales represen-
tative of the firm bringing
cable to Rehovot visited our
apartment recently we told
her that we didn't have time
to watch many telecasts on
the two local channels and
hence saw no point in paying
good money — $200 for in-
stallation plus a monthly fee
of $25 — to receive 26 more
channels that we wouldn't
have time to watch.
"Don't tell me that you
spend every free moment
reading," she exclaimed in
open disbelief. We assured her
that we did read a lot, and,
quite apart from that, we
weren't particularly enthrall-

ed by the prospect of seeing
an international selection of
soap operas.
Until the advent of cable,
local TV addicts were in bad
shape. They had to content
themselves with two govern-
ment-controlled channels
broadcasting only in the even-
ing, plus, in some areas,
unlicensed "pirate" stations
showing a variety of films,
some of them pornographic.
The embarrassment of
riches now available to them
is the result of a 1986 Knesset
decision to authorize cable
TV, which is becoming opera-
tional in most parts of Israel
this year. Stations offer
special programs for children,
sports fans and film lovers,
plus transmissions from a
variety of foreign stations.
Among them are stations in
the U.S., the Soviet Union,
Italy, Britain, France, Hong
Kong, Turkey, Mexico, Egypt,
Germany, Lebanon, Jordan,
South Africa and Madagas-

car. And, it goes without
saying, there will also be
CNN.
Cable companies are sup-
posed to produce local shows
as well, but few do so as of yet
for financial reasons. Only
when they are allowed to
solicit advertising — probably
in two or three years time —
will they have the funds to
begin their own productions
on a significant scale.
Not everyone will be happy
when there are TV ads, least
of all the newspapers, which
stand to lose advertising
revenue. To prepare for that
eventuality, some of them
have bought shares in cable
companies.
Also worried are the
operators of "pirate" stations.
They have already begun cut-
ting subscription fees and are
putting more emphasis on
films with unbridled sex and
violence, which the govern-
ment won't allow regular sta-
tions to screen.

At the same time, ap-
pliance shops have greeted
the new development with
enormous enthusiasm. This is
because 85 percent of Israeli
homes only have one TV set
at the moment, but will have
to buy more if young children
want to watch cartoons, the
teen-agers MTV, Mom a talk
show and Dad some sports
events. Even now, in those
areas where cable is in
operation, quarrels are apt to
break out at 9 p.m. when
wives want to watch a
248-episode Mexican soap
opera ("The Rich Also Cry"),
while the husbands insist on
seeing "Mabat," Israel TVs
main news show.
The greatest and most per-
nicious impact of cable TV
may well be on Israeli
children. They already watch
television an average of three
hours and 40 minutes a day
and, where cable has arrived,
tend to spend twice that
much time.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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