Thousands Protest In Prague As Andrej Babiš Overhauls Public Broadcaster Funding

Thousands of Czechs rallied in Prague on Sunday to condemn a plan led by populist Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to overhaul funding for public broadcasters, which protesters said was dangerous for media independence.

“Inspired by the famous painting La Liberté guidant le peuple by Eugène Delacroix, the cover of Respekt, with the headline 'Babis at the Media Assault', is devoted this week to the threat posed by the new government led by Andrej Babis to media independence”

Courrier international

The plan approved last week would finance public radio and television from the state budget starting next year instead of through fees paid by individuals, households and businesses.

Courrier international

Mikuláš Minář, a main organizer from the Million Moments for Democracy group, said, “The media don’t belong to politicians.”

Critics argued the change would give the three-party coalition government a means to take control of the media following examples in Slovakia under Prime Minister Robert Fico and in Hungary under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Radio Prague International said that starting in 2027, public service media in the Czech Republic, specifically Czech Television and Czech Radio, should be funded directly from the state budget.

Culture Minister Oto Klempíř presented a bill aiming to abolish audiovisual fees, explaining, “Our proposal repeals the obsolete system of TV and radio fees.”

Radio Prague International

Radio Prague International reported that Czech Television (Česká televize – ČT) and Czech Radio (Český rozhlas – ČRo) would receive 7.8 billion crowns (nearly 320 million euros) directly from public finances, and that this would represent a decrease of about one billion crowns (41 million euros) for ČT and 400 million crowns (16 million euros) for ČRo compared with 2026.

René Zavoral, director of ČRo, said, “attaching them to the state budget clearly implies a dependence on political power as well.”

Courrier international described the cover of Respekt as warning of “Babis at the Media Assault,” and said the analysis argued that “political pressure threatens society itself more than journalists.”

“Thousands rally in Prague against government’s public broadcasting overhaul plan Critics say the plan to fund public radio and TV from the state budget would give the coalition government a means to control the media Thousands of Czechs rallied in the capital on Sunday to condemn a plan by the government led by populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis to overhaul funding for public broadcasters that is considered dangerous for their independence”

South China Morning Post

It reported that “hundreds of public-media employees [now nearly 3,000] have signed a petition to preserve their independence,” linking that to the government’s plan to abolish the audiovisual license.

The same article said the coalition’s agenda includes scrapping the license fee, which it described as having monthly amounts of about 6 euros for Czech Public Television and 2 euros for Czech Radio.

It also noted that after more than 80,000 people gathered in central Prague on February 1 to express support for Ukraine and opposition to the government, tens of thousands more gathered again on Sunday, February 15, in more than 400 towns and municipalities across the country to express “their concern about the path the Czech Republic will take”.