PM Babiš promises public-service media stable funding, rules still undecided

Public-service media will receive stable and predictable funding throughout the government’s term, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) has told Deník N and Czech Television. The coalition has not yet agreed on a specific funding model.

According to the news website Novinky.cz, one option would be to allocate a fixed share of selected tax revenues to Czech Television and Czech Radio, based on a set coefficient, rather than fund them directly from the state budget.

Babiš said the coalition could discuss possible changes in February, during the bill’s second reading in the Chamber of Deputies. He said he did not want to submit a new proposal but amend the one that has already passed its first reading. Any changes would require the agreement of coalition partners. According to Deník N, he ruled out retaining the current license fee system.