TEL AVIV, Israel, May 30 (UPI) -- MSN Israel and the Israeli television company Reshet are meeting to discuss collaboration on content, the companies said Monday.
Under the agreement, Reshet, a franchisee of Israel Channel 2, would provide television content to the Internet portal, viewable online, according to a report in the Israeli business magazine TheMarker.
"Reshet very much wants to step up its Internet activities, but it's a television company that is worried about cannibalizing its own income by allowing downloads," the report quoted a Channel 2 executive as saying.
Sources told the magazine that were such a deal to go through, MSN Israel would likely be worth between $15 million and $20 million. The company is co-owned by Microsoft and the Israeli company Internet Gold, the report said.
Israeli television companies are investigating their Internet options but are reluctant to launch independent sites, the report said. Reshet has its own site, as does fellow Channel 2 franchisee Keshet, a company that successfully ties Web operations into programming.
On the Keshet site, surfers can watch clips from the previous week's episode of the hit satire "A Wonderful Country" and vote for their favorite. The winning clip is re-aired after the new episode. Keshet also allows Internet voting for its various reality TV series, including an "American Idol"-like singing contest and an "Apprentice" clone called "The Ambassador."
