Government wants to abolish licence fees

Government wants to abolish licence fees. Opposition and the Christian Democrats criticize it, corruption case affects Czech Television Council elections

25.04.2026 15:25 HotInfo

The conflict surrounding the government proposal by Culture Minister Martin Baxa to abolish licence fees for Czech Television and Czech Radio continues to escalate. The unions of both institutions have declared a strike alert, and thousands of students protested in support of public-service media. The opposition has now stepped up its criticism — former Prime Minister Petr Fiala is calling on Babiš to remove Baxa from the government and withdraw the bill, which he calls a "botched piece of legislation." Fiala sees the proposal as a threat to media independence. Similarly, the Christian Democrats (Lidovci), at their party congress, rejected transferring the financing of Czech Television under the state budget and warn against creating room for pressure on the content of public-service media. idnes.cz ↗

The issue is further complicated by a corruption case. René Kühn, a former member of the Czech Television Council, confirmed that he recognizes the voices on a secret recording published by Forum 24, which captures a conversation about a "half-million debt" related to the election of a director. The National Centre against Organized Crime is now also examining the recording. Due to suspicions of corruption, the opposition in the Chamber of Deputies blocked the election of members to the Czech Television Council; candidates Pavel Matoch and Roman Bradáč face serious questions. forum24.cz ↗

Minister Baxa stands by his decision. He describes claims about layoffs as scaremongering and defends the proposal by saying that "only God submits perfect laws." However, Czech Television's Director General Jan Souček emphasizes that independence is not immediately at risk, though he warns of the risk of chaotic changes. Czech Radio Director René Zavoral defends the current fee system and calls the new law poor and low-quality. seznamzpravy.cz ↗

Media analysts criticize the proposal as amateurish. Filip Rožánek points out that it is not primarily about fees but about control over the media. The Federation of Journalists warns that the new law could violate the European Media Freedom Act. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of a self-employed tradesman who challenged the obligation to pay television fees despite not using a television — a victory in a legal dispute against Czech Television. zpravy.aktualne.cz ↗

Director General Souček and Culture Minister Baxa held a meeting with the cooperation of Prime Minister Babiš. Babiš is preparing to get involved in the negotiations and is seeking a solution through a working group. Significant differences remain between the government's positions — while Baxa criticizes the show StarDance as inappropriate, Babiš is pushing for it to remain in the programming. The opposition convened a meeting of all parliamentary parties with the leadership of Czech Television and Czech Radio to address the situation; however, Minister Baxa and other government representatives did not attend. lidovky.cz ↗