The channel went live on 17 July 2013. Melloul stated that it would battle prejudice and ignorance about Israel with "facts and diversity." Arab Israeli journalist Lucy Aharish was the lead anchor of the English-language branch of the channel from July 2013 until she resigned in January 2016. On 8 December 2016 all programming on the English channel officially ended in preparation for launching in America. The channel broadcast 10 minutes of news on the Hour from 8 am to 11 pm and replaced "Morning Edition", "The Daily Beat" and "The Lineup" with a 26-minute news bulletin, repeated at half past. The launch of i24NEWS in the United States was announced on 27 January 2017. The channel is operated out of headquarters Jaffa. Live programming in the US is broadcast from Times Square in New York with an additional bureau in Washington, DC. Approximately 50 journalists were hired to staff the two locations. The channel uses resources from its Jaffa headquarters. Among the first journalists hired were Michelle Makori, anchor and editor-in-chief, David Shuster who is also a managing editor and Dan Raviv. The channel acquired many of its debut behind-the-scenes talent from the former Al Jazeera America. Haaretz, in a report on 2 December 2019, indicated that i24 News, in order to secure an English broadcast license, gave Benjamin Netanyahu more positive coverage.
Distribution
i24NEWS started broadcasting in Israel on August 29, 2018. It is offered in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland and across the African continent. The channel is also streamed live on its website in all three languages. The channel signed an agreement enabling it to be broadcast in Germany on Kabel Deutschland. i24news was initially broadcast in the United States via the Jewish Life Television network, but following the acquisition of Cablevision by Drahl-owned Altice USA, i24NEWS is now broadcast on the Optimum channel 14, and its distribution is limited to Drahl-owned Optimum and Suddenlink systems.
News team
The English channel news team consists of diplomacy and defense correspondents, anchors, editors, producers and journalists.
Culture - Weekly. The latest cultural buzz & trends. The highs and lows of the cultural world. From actors, through fine arts and even musicians.
Defense - Weekly. Military & strategic affairs. A first-hand look at the Israel Defense Force, one of the strongest armies in the world, and conflicts around the world. Coverage of clashes, war and the most volatile stories of the week.
Economy - Weekly. International Business & financial news.
Faceoff - Weekly. A weekly confrontational in-depth look at the news of the hour, and the people who make it.
Insight - Weekly
Mid East Focus - Weekly. In a turbulent region, we give you a human perspective of the crisis on the ground. In a region exploding with religious tension, we go beyond and show you the real stories, real people, and dynamic storytelling
Morning Edition / Sunday Review - Sunday to Friday with Yael Lavie, who anchored the i24news early program. News from around the world along with the viral spiral that is the Web review, plus culture from across the globe.
News Now - Monday to Friday, Merav Savir anchored the latest news from around the world.
Sport - Weekly. A tour around the world of sports.
The Daily Beat - Monday to Friday, Meredith Ross anchored a full hour of news. A roundup of each day's top news, ranging from the always-volatile Middle East, through the U.S. campaign trail, to sports, economy and everything in between. With in-depth analysis and on the scene reporting.
The Line Up - Monday to Friday, Nurit Zunger anchored news from around the world with Middle East perspective.
