Since broadcasting began in 1968 the channel broadcast in PAL format. Since digital broadcasting in Israel began it also can be viewed for free using small box. In May 2010, Channel 1 became the first public broadcasting house in Israel to offer HD broadcasting. Their first HD broadcasts were the semi-finals and the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, and later the FIFA World Cup 2010. The channel broadcast Mabat, Channel 1's news program, in HD a year after. The channel offered a mixed selection of SD and HD programmes produced both locally and abroad. The HD feed was made available in late 2011, owing to the events of earlier in the year, when television stations in Israel ended analogue broadcasts.