Thousands of Czech public broadcaster staff strike over funding plans
The Czech government's controversial plan to change public broadcaster funding from licence fees to state budget allocations has triggered a 24-hour strike, with staff citing threats to independence and budget cuts.
Thousands of employees at Czech public service media are staging a 24-hour strike on Monday after Prime Minister Andrej Babiš's government pushed ahead with plans to alter the funding model for Czech Television and Czech Radio. The industrial action marks the biggest escalation in a months-long standoff between the broadcasters and the populist administration.
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. She recalled that many people remember what news looked like when politicians chose content before 1989, and workers do not want to return to that era.
The cabinet approved legislation last week that would scrap the licence fee system and finance both broadcasters through an annual state-budget allocation. According to the broadcasters, this would effectively return funding to 2008 levels, cutting about £14.3 million from Czech Radio's annual budget and £35.8 million from Czech Television's, despite nearly two decades of inflation. Executives say the cuts could force hundreds of job losses and substantial programming reductions.
Kubálková emphasized that the dispute is not only about money but has evolved into a broader fight for the future independence of public service media, as direct state funding could expose broadcasters to political pressure. Staff are determined to defend the current form of public service media and continue protests.
Concerns were reinforced when Josef Nerušil, an MP for the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party in the governing coalition, suggested that funding changes should eventually lead to greater scrutiny of content. Culture Minister Oto Klempíř defended the reform, arguing that it does not change the independence of the broadcasters and that many European countries already fund public media from state budgets. Babiš told a public broadcaster journalist: "We want you to save money, and you're not."
The strike will affect all Czech Television channels except its children's service, as well as websites, streaming platforms, and social media output. Czech Radio plans to merge some stations and alter programming schedules. Media scholars say the strike is unprecedented in recent Czech history, with the last comparable action in 2001. Opposition parties have vowed to block the bill, warning that the country is "copying Slovakia's path," where the government dissolved public broadcaster RTVS last year. The Pirate Party has referred the changes to the European Commission and the Council of Europe's Venice Commission, arguing they may breach European standards on media independence. The International Press Institute also called on the European Commission to scrutinize the plans.
