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Thousands of Czechs rally against a government plan to overhaul the funding of public broadcasters
Critics say the overhaul would cut funding by 15% and shift broadcasters to state financing, raising fears of political pressure and layoffs.
- On Sunday, thousands of Czechs marched through Prague to protest a government plan led by Prime Minister Andrej Babia that would overhaul public media funding, which critics argue threatens the independence of Czech Television and Czech Radio.
- Prime Minister Andrej Babia's government, led by the populist ANO party, agreed last week to end licence fees for Czech Television and Czech Radio, replacing them with state budget financing starting next year.
- Czech Television's chief warned the cuts could mean forced layoffs of about 300 to 500 of the station's 2,900 staff, as the plan provides about 15% less money than this year.
- Mikulas Minar of the Million Moments group told the crowd, "Media does not belong to politics," while marchers carried banners reading "Hands off public media" ahead of a planned warning strike on Monday.
- Critics argue the changes mirror media control tactics used by populist governments in Slovakia under Prime Minister Robert Fico and Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orb, raising concerns about potential political interference.
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EBU opposes Czech's plan to abolish licence fee
The Czech government has announced plans to replace the country’s TV licence fee with state budget funding for public service media from January 2027. In reposne, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has said that the proposed funding levels would represent a significant real-terms cut, with no safeguards for PSM independence, no prior consultation with the […]
Thousands of employees of Czech public radio and television stations began a 24-hour strike on Monday, in protest against government plans to reform the public media funding system.
·Bucharest, Romania
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Andrej Babiš's government would tighten control over public media, sparking resistance not seen in decades.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources83
Leaning Left21Leaning Right8Center20Last UpdatedBias Distribution43% Left
Bias Distribution
- 43% of the sources lean Left
43% Left
L 43%
C 41%
R 16%
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