Netanyahu was widely expected to take the ministerial post himself and have Steinitz, a close confidant, working alongside him as a junior minister in the Finance Ministry.
But Channel 1 said the demands of the finance minister's job were such that "Netanyahu decided to appoint a full-time minister to the post."
Netanyahu won praise for his stint as finance minister from 2003 to 2005 when he pushed free-market reforms and cut public spending to stimulate growth.
The report described Steinitz as "lacking financial credentials" and said that Netanyahu had appointed him because of his loyalty and would keep a close watch on the ministry.
There was no official word of the appointment from Netanyahu's office over an hour after the Channel 1 report.
Netanyahu has said he plans to cut taxes to limit the impact of the global financial crisis.
Steinitz's biography on his own website (yuvalsteinitz.ning.com) describes him as "one of Israel's most unique politicians. An esteemed philosopher, academic, military strategist and author."
The biography said Steinitz holds a doctorate in philosophy from Tel Aviv University and lectured on philosophy at Haifa University in northern Israel.
As a lawmaker in the Israeli parliament since 1999, Steinitz has been one of Likud's foremost spokesmen on military and strategic affairs. He was a past chairman of the influential Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
He has often expressed hawkish views on regional security matters.
He began his political activity as a member of the left-wing Peace Now movement, which advocates giving up land Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war and which Palestinians want as part of a future state.
In his biography he described his disenchantment with the Oslo peace accords Israel signed with the Palestinians, his political movement to the right and his endorsement of Netanyahu and the right-wing Likud party in 1996.
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