Public service media debate escalates: Employees on strike alert as Babiš meets Chudárek
The Czech government’s proposed law on public service media, which would change the funding model of Czech Television and Czech Radio, has become one of the most debated issues in the country. The shift from licence fees to state budget financing is being criticised by both the opposition and the heads of the two institutions. At the core of the criticism are concerns over a potential loss of independence.
On Wednesday Czech Television Director General Hynek Chudárek met with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) to discuss the draft law on public service media. After the meeting, Babiš announced plans to establish a working group of experts, in which he intends to participate personally.
After the meeting with Babiš, Chudárek described the proposed law as flawed:
“There have to be so many changes to that law that I can’t even quantify them, because the law is truly inadequate and many things are missing from it.”
Babiš, however, argued that the quality of the proposal would become clear only after the consultation process and stressed that public media are funded from state budgets in several EU countries.
“We are fulfilling our program by following the path of other member states. In the EU, there are 17 countries that finance public service media differently. I strongly reject the idea that we are threatening democracy – it is nonsense,” Babiš said.
According to the prime minister, the situation would also benefit from the adoption of a law granting the Supreme Audit Office the authority to oversee the financial management of Czech Television and Czech Radio. He reiterated his view that the two institutions are not controlled by anyone. By law, however, public broadcasters are supervised by their councils, while their annual reports are approved by the Chamber of Deputies.
The proposal has also been rejected by employees of both institutions, who have declared a state of strike alert. According to Jan Moláček, a member of the Czech Television strike committee, the proposed funding changes could “devastate” both institutions.
“We call on the government to abandon its plan, which would destroy Czech Television and Czech Radio as we know them. Viewers and listeners would feel the impact the most. Independent news, current affairs, sports broadcasts, original production, children’s programming, regional broadcasting – all of this and much more would be at risk,” he said.
Babiš stated that he wants to lead a factual and transparent debate on the future of public media funding, adding that strike alerts and protests will not resolve the situation. Chudárek noted that the strike alert at Czech Television had been expected and took place in a calm and orderly manner.
The proposal, introduced last week by Culture Minister Oto Klempíř, would shift the financing of Czech Television and Czech Radio from licence fees to the state budget, while also cutting their funding by 1.4 billion crowns next year. Czech Television alone is expected to lose around 1 billion crowns. The proposal sets a fixed budget allocation of 5.74 billion crowns for Czech Television next year, compared to its current total budget of 8.5 billion crowns.
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