Czech coalition advances public-media funding overhaul
The bill would replace the 205-crown household broadcasting fee with state-budget funding and cut support for public broadcasters by about 15 percent.
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The bill would replace the 205-crown household broadcasting fee with state-budget funding and cut support for public broadcasters by about 15 percent.
The Czech governing coalition voted early on October 24 to send its public-media funding bill to parliamentary committees for further discussion, Al Jazeera reported. The proposal would replace household broadcasting fees with state-budget funding, but the vote did not make it law.
Prime Minister Andrej Babis promised to abolish the fee before taking office last December. He says his three-party government is fulfilling that pledge to voters.
Households would no longer pay the 205-crown ($9.45) broadcasting fee. Czech Television and Czech Radio would instead receive funding from the state budget, with their funding reduced by about 15 percent. The proposal would then hold funding unchanged in nominal terms—the amount of money allocated—for several years.
Babis says the new model would be fairer to poorer households and encourage broadcasters to become more efficient.
Opponents warn that the overhaul could weaken broadcaster independence. Public-media employees who struck against the plan in June said it would leave broadcasters vulnerable to government pressure. Babis has said that no nationalisation of media is being prepared.
Al Jazeera reports that public media are among the Czech Republic’s most trusted news sources, while Czech Television is the most-watched broadcaster across several age groups.
A civic group has called a public protest for Sunday, October 25. Journalists and other employees at the broadcasters have announced a strike for November 3.
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