The IBA was supposed be replaced by the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation on 1 October 2016, but the launch was postponed until the beginning of 2018. The proposed model for the IBC had been criticized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which disliked the tying of the IBC's finances to budgets decided upon directly by politicians and the planned absence of news services. EBU rules prescribe that a public broadcaster must provide a news service in order to qualify for membership. After several delays, the plans were changed to allow the new broadcasting service was planned to start its operations on 15 May 2017.