A record 3.3 million Israelis watched Shalit's return on TV
50% of all televisions were tuned into a channel reporting on Shalit on
Tuesday morning; by prime time, 70% were watching.
By Ophir Bar-Zohar, Amitai Ziv and Ruti Levy Haaretz Published 05:21
23.10.11

More than 70% of the country tuned in to see Gilad Shalit's release on
Tuesday, a record for Israel, said Dr. Yifat Ben-Hai Segev, head of the
Israel Audience Research Board (IARB).

On Tuesday morning, 50% of all televisions were tuned into a channel
reporting on Shalit; by prime time, 70% were watching, or 3.3 million
people. Viewership was up, starting at 7 A.M. that day when the prisoner
exchange with Hamas got underway.

Shalit and Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk in Egypt at the Rafah crossing
after Shalit’s transfer on Tuesday.

As a point of comparison, 42% of televisions tuned in at prime time on the
day Shalit was kidnapped in 2006, and that was for a limited period, not all
day, she said. Viewership was high by international standards, too - 20
million of Britain's 60 million citizens watched Prince William get married
this year, which is only 33%.

The country's online news sites also saw unprecedented spikes in traffic,
with Ynet and Walla! reporting double their usual readership.

News outlets clamor for Gilad interview

Meanwhile, news outlets around the world have requested interviews with
Gilad Shalit, including "60 Minutes," NBC and ABC, as well as outlets in
Turkey, France, Germany, Britain and China, said Tami Sheinkman, who
volunteered as the head of the Shalit family's public campaign.

Currently, the Shalit family is turning them all down. The family has made
no agreements to talk with anyone, including book deals, she said. The media
agreed not to publish pictures of Shalit without the family's agreement for
10 days, she said.