High five: The local, the global, the American and the Israeli sport on Israeli television

The aim of this study is to shed some light on a process by which Israeli society has transformed, almost overnight, from a single to a multi-channel media society, a process that significantly changed Israelis' consumption of television and their feelings towards the medium, in the social context of viewing, and in related aspects of leisure activities (Weimann, 1996 ; Katz et al., 1997 ). Rooted in discussions of globalization, Americanization, Israeli identity and the development of Israeli television, this study focuses on the ways in which this process influenced televised sport in general and basketball in particular as a case that shows how the penetration of transnational - read global - media agencies (such as CNN, Sky), as well as of sports organizations (such as the NBA) influences Israeli culture and thus identity.