Survey reveals deep divide over Czech public media funding reform

A new survey shows a sharp divide between government and opposition voters over proposed changes to funding Czech Television and Czech Radio. According to the NMS poll for Novinky.cz, three quarters of government supporters favour reducing the broadcasters’ budgets after licence fees are abolished, while 71 percent of opposition voters reject the cuts. The government has proposed replacing fees with state funding, potentially reducing the broadcasters’ combined annual income by around 1.4 billion crowns. Asked whether the reform aims to increase government influence over broadcasting, 44 percent agreed and 42 percent disagreed. The survey was conducted on October 26 and 27.