Thousands of Czechs rally against government plan to overhaul funding of public broadcasters

Thousands Rally in Prague, Public Media Staff Strike Over Czech Funding Overhaul

Thousands of Czechs gathered in Prague on Sunday to protest the government's plan to overhaul public broadcaster funding, with staff at Czech Television and Czech Radio staging a one-day strike the following day, according to multiple reports.

The demonstrations, held in front of Czech Television's headquarters, came a day before the industrial action Monday. The protest was the latest in a series of rallies in the capital and regional cities against the plan, which would replace the current licence fee system with direct financing from the state budget starting next year.

Critics, including the protest organizers, argue the change would give the three-party coalition government a means to control the media, drawing comparisons to actions by populist governments in Slovakia under Prime Minister Robert Fico and in Hungary under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

"The media don't belong to politicians," said Mikuláš Minár, a main organizer from the Million Moments for Democracy group, as quoted by Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle, and The Hindu. "They belong to us all and we won't allow them to be stolen from us."

Staff at both public broadcasters launched a 24-hour strike Monday, the biggest escalation yet in a months-long standoff, according to The Guardian. Pavla Kubálková, a member of Czech Television's strike committee, said the reforms were "prepared without consultation and without guarantees for the independence of public service media," as quoted by The Guardian.

"A large part of society remembers what the news looked like when politicians chose the content before 1989. We don't want to go back there," she added.

Funding Cuts and Job Losses

The government's plan, approved by the cabinet last week, would cut public media funding by about 15% compared to this year, according to Deutsche Welle, South China Morning Post, and The Hindu. The reduction would return funding to 2008 levels, with Czech Radio losing approximately £14.3 million and Czech Television £35.8 million annually, The Guardian reported.

Directors of public radio and television have said the cuts would force them to lay off hundreds of staff and reduce programming, The Guardian and The Hindu reported.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, whose coalition includes his ANO party along with right-wing and far-right parties, has defended the plan. He argues that most taxpayers do not want to pay for the service and that it needs to save money, according to Deutsche Welle. Babiš has said the new funding model would be fairer to poorer households and encourage the outlets to work harder at efficiency, Al Jazeera reported.

Babiš maintains he is not threatening the independence of public media, but critics and international media organizations, including Reporters Without Borders, have condemned the move, warning of political interference, Al Jazeera and South China Morning Post reported.

The dispute has also drawn attention to the broader political agenda of the Babiš government, which includes steering the country away from supporting Ukraine and rejecting key EU policies, according to The Hindu.