PM Babiš: Coalition to discuss the public service media bill on May 25

The coalition council will discuss the draft law on public service media on May 25. After reaching agreement within the coalition, the proposal will then be submitted to the government for consideration. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) announced this today in his Sunday video on social media. According to him, a public debate will also take place with the directors-general of Czech Television and Czech Radio about the planned changes.

Under the proposal, Czech Radio and Czech Television would no longer receive funding through licence fees paid by households and companies, but instead through a fixed amount from the state budget. According to the plan, Czech Television would operate next year with a budget of 5.74 billion Czech crowns, compared with 8.5 billion crowns this year. Czech Radio would receive 2.07 billion crowns from the state, around 400 million less than it currently receives from licence fees.

The proposal has been criticized by experts, the opposition, and the management of both media organizations. Critics describe it as a nationalization of public media and warn that it could limit their independence while further increasing state debt. Employees of Czech Television and Czech Radio entered a state of strike alert on April 22, demanding that the government abandon the plan.