Trouble in bundles: A severe blow to Maariv and Eretz Israel after Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar decided to remove them from the list of the three most widely read newspapers in Israel, and replace them with Israel Hayom and Israel Post - something that will take away a huge share of their advertising.
According to the planning and construction laws, it is mandatory to publish tenders and construction plans in two daily newspapers in the Hebrew language, at least one of which is defined as "widespread." Every year, the Minister of the Interior determines which three widespread newspapers are. However, in the last decade, despite the major changes in the print press market, the list has not been changed, and since 2005, Yedioth Ahronoth, Maariv, and Eretz have been defined as widespread newspapers.
Now, after requests from Israel Hayom and Israel Post, and in light of the latest TGI survey from 2013, which determined that Israel Hayom and Yedioth Ahronoth lead with 38% exposure on weekdays, followed by Israel Post with about 8%, compared to Haaretz, which receives a total of about 6%, and Maariv with less than %5 exposure, the minister decided to update the list - and remove Maariv and Haaretz.
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This decision is a severe blow to the country, which has barely survived in recent years and will now be forced to part ways with the tender advertisements, which bring large sums of money to the newspaper's budget. For Eli Azur, who purchased Maariv, this is a change of newspapers, since he owns the Israel Post, which was included in the list.
