Advertising in Israel: the media landscape

Advertising in Israel takes place across a compact, high-income market where Hebrew is the primary language of commerce, but Arabic-speaking, Russian-speaking and Haredi audiences each have their own dedicated media ecosystems. Digital overtook television in total spend in 2019, yet commercial TV remains the dominant mass-reach medium, governed by a measurement structure that every planner must understand before reading a single rating.

Category rules are specific, audience currencies have precisely defined universes, and monitored expenditure data requires gross-to-net correction before it means anything actionable.

At a glance: where to start

Your situation	Where to start
Building mass reach quickly	Commercial television: Keshet 12, Reshet 13, Now 14
Reaching audiences beyond the Hebrew mainstream	Audience segments section below
Urban visibility and ambient presence	Out-of-home channels and operators
Understanding what an Israeli TV rating represents	TV measurement section below
Entering Israel from abroad	Agency selection and contract structure

Spend and market context

Israel had 8.72 million internet users in October 2025, a penetration rate of 91.3 percent (DataReportal, Digital 2026 Israel). Digital and television together dominate total spend, with digital holding the larger share.

One caveat deserves emphasis: monitored advertising expenditure in Israel is published by Ifat on a gross rate-card basis including agency commissions. Published figures therefore materially overstate net spend. Never benchmark budgets against monitored adex without a gross-to-net correction. Following 7 October 2023, commercial television advertising effectively paused for approximately two weeks and overall market activity dropped sharply in the final quarter of that year. The market has since resumed.

Television: commercial channels and structure

Three commercial free-to-air channels carry spot advertising in Israel: Keshet 12 (market leader), Reshet 13 and Now 14 (Channel 14). Now 14 is a smaller channel licensed in 2018 that reaches a conservative, right-leaning audience and has grown considerably since 2023. Kan 11, the public broadcaster, carries sponsored advertising on television.

Until 1 November 2017, Keshet and Reshet operated as franchisees sharing Channel 2’s broadcast week. The split gave each its own channel, and Channel 10 merged into Reshet 13 in January 2019. Older benchmarks and contracts may still reference the Channel 2 structure. A broadcasting reform law passed on 16 July 2026 replaces the Second Authority for Television and Radio with a new broadcast media authority; existing advertising rules carry over during the transition, and legal challenges are pending.

TV measurement: the currency every planner must read correctly

The Israeli Audience Research Board (the Rating Committee) is the joint industry body that commissions the TV currency. Its members include the broadcasters, the Israeli Marketing Association and the advertising agencies’ association. Kantar has operated the service since 1998 on a peoplemeter panel of approximately 700 households (around 2,200 individuals), with streamed viewing of broadcast content captured since 2020 and an expansion to 800 households approved in October 2026.

Here is the critical planning fact: the panel universe covers TV households and individuals aged four and over, excluding East Jerusalem. Ratings are produced for both the total population and the Jewish population, but commercial airtime is sold on the Jewish-population figure. A quoted Israeli TV rating therefore represents the Hebrew-speaking viewing universe. Arabic-speaking audiences are planned from separate sector surveys. Measurement runs continuously, with daily results each morning.

Digital and social channels

Near-universal internet access makes digital both a reach and a performance medium in Israel. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok carry the largest advertising reach, and WhatsApp functions as a near-universal messaging layer. Google and Meta together account for the large majority of digital spend.

There is no independent cross-platform digital currency. Planning relies on platform self-reporting and commercial monitoring, and the distinction between measured and modelled figures must be established for each platform individually.

Audience segments: Arabic, Russian and Haredi audiences

A defining feature of advertising in Israel is that the Hebrew mainstream excludes a substantial share of the population.

Arabic-speaking audiences, roughly a fifth of the public, are served by Makan 33 (Kan’s Arabic channel) and commercial radio such as Radio A-Shams. Television viewing in this segment runs heavily on satellite and streaming outside the measured Hebrew-language currency, so plans are built from sector-specific surveys and Arabic digital media. Russian-speaking audiences are served by Channel 9, the designated advertising-funded Russian-language channel, which participates in the ratings currency. Haredi audiences are reached through a dedicated ecosystem of dailies (Yated Ne’eman, Hamodia) and radio stations (Kol Chai, Kol BaRama). Most Haredi households do not watch television, making print and radio the primary paid channels for this segment.

A national plan that stops at the Hebrew mainstream leaves a substantial share of the population unreached. That is not an abstract planning note, it is a structural gap that surfaces regularly in media reviews.

Press and print channels

Israel Hayom, distributed free, leads daily print exposure; Yedioth Ahronoth follows. The business audience is served by Calcalist, Globes and TheMarker (Haaretz group). Print exposure continues to decline year on year while digital subscriptions grow.

The press and radio currency is the half-yearly TGI survey by Kantar Media, whose universe is Jewish adults aged 18 and over, the same population logic as the TV currency.

Radio and audio channels

Kan’s public radio networks carry commercial advertising on two networks, and thirteen regional commercial stations accept advertising. Army Radio’s stations, including Galgalatz, have historically been among the broadest-reach radio properties in Israel. A December 2025 government decision to close Army Radio was frozen by the High Court, and the stations remain on air, making continuity of this inventory an active monitoring point in any radio plan.

Radio audiences are measured through the half-yearly TGI survey, which supports station-level planning rather than fine-grained optimisation.

Out-of-home channels

Out-of-home advertising in Israel operates on municipal concession and franchise tenders, city by city. Leading operators include Maximedia, Rapid Vision and Nova Media. Digital OOH has grown in Tel Aviv, including large LED sites, light rail and the airport. There is no independent OOH audience currency; delivery claims are operator-reported. That is a verification point in any plan, not a formality.

Category rules and regulatory framework

Several advertising categories carry specific restrictions in Israel.

Alcohol advertising has been banned on billboards and public transport since 2012, with other media limited to strictly informative content and mandatory health warnings. Tobacco and e-cigarettes are subject to a near-total advertising ban under the January 2019 amendment, with a narrow print-newspaper exception. Gambling advertising is prohibited except for Mifal HaPayis and the Israel Sports Betting Board.

Amendment 13 to the Privacy Protection Law, in force since 14 August 2025, gives the Privacy Protection Authority substantial fining powers. For advertisers this means absolute opt-out rights from direct mailing lists, mandatory source and opt-out disclosures, and opt-in requirements for advertising based on sensitive data. The spam provisions of the Communications Law require prior opt-in for commercial email, SMS and automated calls. Mandatory red front-of-pack warning labels for sodium, sugar and saturated fat apply since January 2020 and appear on pack shots used in advertising. Misleading advertising falls under the Consumer Protection Law.

This article provides orientation, not legal advice. Rules change, and local legal verification is required before any campaign goes live.

Assessing a plan in Israel: the right questions

Before approving a media plan in Israel, press your agency on the following. Which population figure is the TV plan built on, and are the audiences you need inside that universe? On what basis are spots evaluated: break-level data or programme and daypart averages that may flatter the commercial audience? What is the gap between Ifat-monitored gross and net prices actually paid, and who keeps the difference? Are Arabic-speaking, Russian-speaking and Haredi segments planned from their own data or silently assumed into the mainstream figures? What do operator-reported OOH claims rest on? Do radio plans account for the Army Radio continuity question? And do all planned categories clear the applicable rules?

These questions are not hypothetical. Each has surfaced in media reviews of Israeli campaigns.

Finding and managing a media agency in Israel

Selecting the right agency partner is the structural decision that shapes everything downstream. Israel’s agency market combines large local groups and international network affiliates, and the right partner depends on which audiences and segments are in scope for your plan. The guide on selecting and managing a media agency in Israel covers the selection process, evaluation criteria and contract structure.

Frequently asked questions

Who measures TV audiences in Israel? The Israeli Audience Research Board (the Rating Committee) is the joint industry body that commissions the TV audience currency. Its members include the broadcasters, the Israeli Marketing Association and the advertising agencies’ association. Kantar has operated the peoplemeter service since 1998 on a panel of approximately 700 households, with an expansion to 800 approved in October 2026.

What does an Israeli TV rating represent? The panel universe covers TV households and individuals aged four and over, excluding East Jerusalem. Ratings are produced for both the total population and the Jewish population, but commercial airtime is sold on the Jewish-population figure. A quoted rating therefore represents the Hebrew-speaking viewing universe; Arabic-speaking audiences fall outside this currency and must be planned from separate data.

What are the biggest advertising platforms in Israel? Digital dominates total advertising spend. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok carry the largest advertising reach; Google and Meta together account for the large majority of digital spend. WhatsApp functions as a near-universal messaging layer. Among broadcast channels, Keshet 12 is the broadest single commercial television channel.

What advertising restrictions should I know about before planning in Israel? Alcohol advertising is limited to strictly informative content, with a billboard and public transport ban in place since 2012. Tobacco and e-cigarettes are subject to a near-total ban with a narrow print exception. Gambling advertising is prohibited except for the two state-licensed operators. Amendment 13 to the Privacy Protection Law has been in force since August 2025, with mandatory opt-in for sensitive data and opt-out rights for direct mail. Food advertising must reflect mandatory red front-of-pack warning labels introduced in January 2020. Rules change; verify with local legal counsel before any campaign goes live.

Agree the measurement yardstick before the plan is approved, in the currency of this market, and know what that currency represents. Advertising in Israel rewards advertisers who ask exact questions early: the combination of a concentrated commercial TV market, a precisely defined ratings universe, strong audience segments and specific category rules leaves little room for assumptions. Trust is good; verifying is better. Vendor-MGT works with advertisers in Israel on agency selection, media audits and ongoing vendor management, independently and on the advertiser’s side. Contact us to discuss your situation.