From global ambition to uncertain horizon

Launched a decade ago by French-Israeli businessman Patrick Drahi, owner of French telecom operator SFR, I24News now appears to be entering its final chapter.

In recent weeks, most journalists across the channel’s French, English and Arabic services have reportedly been laid off, including several of its most recognizable on-air figures. What remains is a reduced programming schedule, with lower-cost content filling airtime as questions grow about the network’s long-term viability.

I24News was originally conceived as a multilingual international news channel, often compared to a smaller-scale Al Jazeera, aiming to project Israeli perspectives to a global audience. 

Despite its ambitions, the channel struggled to establish a strong foothold in an increasingly competitive and fragmented media landscape.

A few months ago, Drahi expanded the venture with the launch of a Hebrew-language news channel, backed by significant financial investment. However, it failed to gain meaningful traction in a domestic market already dominated by well-established news competitors.

Industry observers now speculate that the experiment could end either in closure or in a sale to another media group. After ten years of operations and substantial investment, the future of I24News looks more uncertain than ever.