The Communications Ministry is promoting a bill that would, among other things, require international streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ to invest in Israeli content.
The proposed reform stipulates that streaming services would have to reinvest 4%-6.5% of their annual revenue in Israeli creators. The regulation would also apply to local competitors with annual revenue higher than NIS 300 million ($90 million).
"The regulation will apply to all local players and ensure that the Israeli viewer has access to a large and diverse variety of quality content that expresses all the different flavors of Israel's language and culture," the Communications Ministry said.
Another regulation would ban subscription sports channels from charging customers extra for content of high demand or national cultural importance.
Moreover, content providers will no longer have exclusive rights for certain sports broadcasts so that each will be obliged to offer its entire catalog to other providers "at fair and non-discriminatory prices", according to the ministry.
The bill would also allow content providers to broadcast news as long as its produced by a separate entity from the broadcasting body.
"We are taking another step in regulating the broadcasting market and adapting it to the current era", said Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel. "The reform will require international and Israeli broadcasters, with hundreds of thousands of subscribers in the Israeli market, to invest in Israeli content."
Hendel's ambitious reforms must overcome a long legislative process before becoming law and cannot be completed under Israel's current caretaker government.