Czech Republic: Government attacks public television and radio

DW News · Feb 17, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Czech Television and Czech Radio currently have the highest audience and listener numbers in the Czech Republic, with licensing fees generating €450 million ($532 million) annually. For three decades, the public broadcaster has functioned successfully and independently. But during his election campaign, the multibillionaire and right-wing populist Andrej Babis announced that he wanted to weaken the public broadcaster and bring it under his political control. Ultimately, he wants to destroy it. He won the parliamentary elections in October 2025 and formed a coalition government comprising his own right-wing populist ANO movement and the Motorists for Themselves party, which are both part of the extremist Patriots faction in the lower house of the Czech parliament in Prague, and the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy party.Czech elections: Ex-PM Babis looks set to return to powerTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Czech government's model is Fico's Slovakia This government has now launched an attack on the financial independence of the public broadcaster. The plan is to abolish licensing fees, which amount to some €8 per household per month. The government has also promised in a statement "further legislative changes, which will result in an updating of the definition of public broadcaster, more efficient use of resources and the elimination of duplicate costs." Its model, it said, is Slovakia, which in recent years has come under the complete control of Prime Minister Robert Fico's government. Slovakian Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova, who is behind these reforms in her home country, recently came to Prague to assist her counterpart Oto Klempir, from the Motorists party, with the implementation of similar reforms of Czech television and radio.Slovakia: Loss of public trust in state media outlets In Slovakia, the abolition of the independence of the country's public broadcaster (RTVS) triggered one of the largest demonstrations in recent years — but the government pushed its plans through regardless. According to a survey conducted by PMT/Kantar Media in December 2025, only 11.9% of viewers in Slovakia still watch "government television," with the private channel Markiza enjoying 32.5% of the audience share and its competitor JOJ 21.3%. "The current financing model, together with other legal safeguards, ensures maximum protection of editorial and institutional decision-making from political or economic influences," wrote the directors-general of Czech Television, Hynek Chudarek, and of Czech Radio, Rene Zavoral, in a joint letter protesting the government's plans. "The current financing system has proven itself over the past 33 years and is also fully in line with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), which emphasizes institutional independence, financial stability, and the protection of public service media from political pressure," they added, pointing out that the Czech Republic had committed itself to complying with EU legislation years ago. Chudarek and Zavoral asked the Czech culture minister to set up a group of experts to examine the financing of the public broadcaster, but Klempir refused. "I think it is fair that we meet only once new models for financing these media outlets are on the table," he said, adding that the new solutions would "comply with EMFA regulations."Plans to reform the public broadcasting system triggered massive protests in Slovakia. The government went ahead anywayImage: Jaroslav Novak/dpa/TASR Slovakia/AP/picture alliance Previous Czech government tried to safeguard independence of state media During the term of Prime Minister Babis' predecessor Petr Fiala, the center-right government attempted to strengthen the independence of the Czech public broadcaster. It established the rule that one-third of the members of the media councils, which appoint the directors-general of the television channels and radio stations, be selected by the Senate. Director-generals can now only be dismissed by a two-thirds majority of the media councils. Moreover, under the previous government licensing fees were increased for the first time in 10 years and adjusted to inflation automatically. Further reforms were blocked by Fiala's own Civic Democratic Party (ODS). "We achieved the maximum that was possible in the current political situation," Senator David Smoljak of the opposition Mayors and Independents (STAN) party told DW. "There is not a single objective reason for the changes planned by Babis' government," he added, explaining that the government wanted to abolish the current functioning system but had not said with what it wanted to replace it. "The government clearly wants to weaken and marginalize the public broadcaster," said Bara Prochazkova, a member of the Czech Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting. "Weakened media are easy to control politically," she told DW. However, the current ruling parties have a majority of 108 out of 200 votes in the lower house of parliament, enabling them to override a possible veto by the upper house and pro-European President Petr Pavel.Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis sees Slovakia's attack on state media outlets as a modelImage: Vit Simanek/CTK Photo/IMAGO Critics of the reforms say that the only way the independence of the Czech public broadcaster can be preserved is through public pressure. This is what Smoljak is hoping for. "Czech Radio, which has been in existence for more than a hundred years, is a great symbol. People died defending its building during the Prague uprising against the Nazi occupiers in May 1945, and in August 1968 when they defended it against the Soviets," he said. "I believe that the Czechs will also defend Czech Radio and Czech Television against Babis' government." This article was translated from German. Edited by: Jess Smee