From licence fees to state budget: Media expert Jan Jirák on planned changes in public media funding

In Czechia, there is increasing debate about a proposed law from the Ministry of Culture that would abolish licence fees and change the funding of Czech public service media. As a result, they would be financed from the state budget instead. However, voices not only from the opposition and the leadership of Czech Radio and Czech Television themselves are raising concerns, viewing such a change as a threat to the stability and independence of Czech media.

In Slovakia, with whom Czechia has strong bilateral relations, licence fees were abolished already in 2022. At the time, the government promised to ensure that the public media’s budget would not be endangered, but the new government that came to power in 2023 further reduced the amount allocated to radio and television from the state budget. This subsequently weakened the entire institution (radio and television operate as a single public service institution in Slovakia) and made it even more dependent on the state.This so-called “Slovak scenario” has for several months now been a spectre in the public debate about abolishing licence fees in the Czech Republic.

The Slovakian Television and Radio|Photo: Alexis Rosenzweig, Radio Prague International

To get his perspective on the situation, I spoke with Professor Jan Jirák from the Department of Media Studies at Charles University not only about how public service media should be funded, but also about the societal role these media play. But first: is the Czech Republic really facing a Slovak scenario?

Jirák: I think the comparison between the Czech Republic and Slovakia is somewhat rooted in our shared history. We tend to compare ourselves, but in my view the starting situation was different, and from the very beginning the position of so-called public service media in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia has been different. Slovak Television, when it was still a separate institution, repeatedly struggled with economic problems. It was much more economically tied to the state, and that is now simply showing after all these years. Moreover, I think the relationship between citizens, politicians, and the media is defined a bit differently there than in the Czech environment, so I wouldn’t lean too heavily into that comparison.

So what would abolishing licence fees in the Czech Republic actually mean?

Czech Parliament - Chamber of Deputies|Photo: Michaela Danelová, Czech Radio

Jirák: I know I may sound old-fashioned, but I think it wouldn’t mean anything at all. I think it’s a bit of a fetish. We’ve let ourselves be maneuvered—partly by the media—into the position that licence fees equal the independence of public service media. But, to put it bluntly, these media have never been politically independent. They are governed by laws approved by the legislature. They are overseen by councils elected by the Chamber of Deputies. The amount of the fee is decided by law—by the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, and the President. That link to politics has always been there. In my opinion, we should try to prevent that link from increasing. But whether the funding comes from a specific fee or from the state budget is not essential. What matters is whether there are clear rules for how it is done. For 13 years, politicians didn’t increase the licence fee. So the financing of these media has been—and still is—in their hands. That doesn’t change. I think we should rather defend other mechanisms than focus on which “pocket” the money comes from.

And what could those other mechanisms be?

Jirák: Either funding from the state budget, with the important condition that there would be a law on budget allocation requiring regular indexation of the funding. That would be significant. Ideally, the indexation should even be set in advance so that media organizations can plan ahead. That would substantially improve the situation compared to today. Whether the money comes from savings in other budget chapters or from higher taxes is, in my view, a technical matter. The key issue is ensuring stable funding. And that is not a question of licence fees. Their dysfunction is fully due to the fact that they were not adjusted for so many years, and politicians essentially kept control over them.

Jan Jirák|Photo: Elena Horálková, Czech Radio

Is there any foreign public service media model that fulfills its role, is funded from the state budget, and works well?

Jirák: In my view, the most interesting example for us might be the Finnish model—a special type of tax.

Could you explain this model?

Jirák: As far as I know, it’s a specific tax paid—up to a set maximum—by everyone who files a tax return. So anyone who pays taxes also pays this fee. Its amount is based on taxable income, meaning those with higher incomes pay more, and so on. The entire mechanism is anchored in law. To me, this seems far more stable than the licence fee systems we’ve been discussing.

I understand that funding through licence fees is not an ideal solution either. But it can’t be denied that in the Czech Republic there is growing concern about the impact this change could have on public service media. Is this concern unfounded?

Jirák: I think this is very much a stance generated by the media themselves. Even the licence fee system as we have it here has been very disadvantageous. Politicians could essentially agree to let the media “starve.” It almost happened when technology costs rose during the pandemic and the fee was not increased. Thankfully, the media survived. So I really don’t think that collecting licence fees puts these media in any particularly strong position—quite the opposite. Undoubtedly, however, we are now facing a new debate in the Czech environment about what public service actually is.

And what is it, in your view?

Czech Radio building|Photo: Encyklopedie Prahy 2

Jirák: In my opinion, the fundamental principle of public service is to integrate society—to bring it together into a single whole. The second point is that public service is not just one thing. These media produce a wide range of content, in fact most of it is not even journalistic in nature. For example, I would support encouraging Czech Radio to explicitly commit to systematically developing radio drama as a distinct cultural value. I think radio drama is truly unique. And that, in my view, is exactly the kind of thing that belongs to public service—no other radio station will do it. It fulfills cultural aims, it develops personality, imagination, and much more. It is a contribution to national cultural values, in every sense.

Therefore, in your opinion, how can we systematically build public awareness so that people realize that, for example, radio drama is something valuable—that it’s something we want to preserve within our cultural landscape?

Jirák: This is an absolutely fundamental question you’ve just asked. And I think that in this area, we have already neglected decades during which this should have been discussed and debated. And if you notice, it’s quite a peculiar phenomenon—public service, outside the realm of journalism, outside news and current affairs, is most often talked about when someone gets the impression that something is not public service. That suggests to me that we have some unreflected boundaries in our minds about what we do and do not consider to be public service. I find the debate about the show Stardance interesting, because it illustrates this very well—the criticism of Czech Television for broadcasting it. And then someone says, “Well, the BBC has it too,” as if that were an argument in itself. But what this discussion shows is that we are constantly feeling out that boundary of what public service actually is. And we should be able to guide this process more deliberately, so that it becomes more systematic—so that we can truly have a meaningful discussion about what public service really means.

Oto Klempíř|Photo: Zuzana Jarolímková, iROZHLAS.cz

On Friday, April 10, Czech Minister of Culture Oto Klempíř met with the directors of both public service media institutions, Hynek Chudárek and René Zavoral. They want to preserve the current system, arguing that the existing funding model works and ensures the independence of the media. However, the minister assured both directors that the independence of both institutions would not be threatened even after a change in funding.

On Tuesday, April 14, Klempíř presented the government’s draft law on public service media at a press conference on Tuesday. According to the minister, instead of revenue from licence fees, Czech Television and Czech Radio will receive a total of 7.8 billion CZK from the state budget next year.

Czech Television is set to receive 5.74 billion CZK, while this year it expects to collect 6.73 billion CZK from licence fee payers. Czech Radio will receive 2.07 billion CZK from the state, compared to 2.48 billion CZK expected from fees this year.

The adoption of the law is to be preceded this year by a separate parliamentary proposal that would exempt certain groups of fee payers from paying licence fees already this year. Coalition MPs plan to present its details at a separate press conference.