Czech Government's Media Funding Plans Spark Protests in Prague

The planned abolition of television and radio licence fees is causing heated political debate in the Czech Republic. Following a controversial overnight vote in the Chamber of Deputies, the Milion chvilek civic initiative is calling for a large demonstration in Prague city centre.

The civic initiative Milion chvilek pro demokracii (A Million Moments for Democracy) has announced a protest demonstration in Prague's Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) for Sunday, 25 October 2026. The event will begin at 4 pm and is directed against plans by Andrej Babiš's government to switch the funding of public service broadcaster Czech Television (Česká televize, ČT) and Czech Radio (Český rozhlas, ČRo) to the state budget.

During the night leading into Saturday, hundreds of people already gathered on Malostranské náměstí, near Parliament, to protest against the planned legislative amendment.

Controversial Vote at 4.36 am

The protests were triggered by the actions of the governing coalition in the Czech Chamber of Deputies. Following a long and heated debate, the bill to abolish the existing television and radio licence fees was referred to its second reading at 4.36 am on Saturday morning.

Photo: Milion chvilek pro demokracii

The governing majority had previously pushed through a fixed time for the vote and limited speaking time. According to Czech media reports, this prevented 65 registered MPs from speaking. The opposition strongly criticised the procedure and accused the government of restricting parliamentary debate.

The bill proposes that ČT and ČRo should in future be funded directly through the state budget. According to the civic initiative, this would leave the two institutions with around CZK 1.4 billion less in funding each year.

Civic Initiative Warns of Political Influence

Milion chvilek sees the planned reform as a serious threat to the independence of public service media. The initiative fears that direct funding from the state budget could significantly increase political influence over television and radio.

In its appeal, the organisation specifically criticises Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and Culture Minister Oto Klempíř. It accuses the government of ignoring warnings from media experts, journalists and sections of the public. The initiative also draws parallels with the media policies of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Culture Minister Klempíř rejects these accusations. He describes funding public service media from the state budget as a common model in Europe and denies that the reform would necessarily threaten their independence.

However, the abolition of television and radio licence fees has not yet been finally approved. Following its first reading, the bill will initially be discussed by the relevant parliamentary committee before further readings take place in the Chamber of Deputies. The Senate and the President would then also be involved in the legislative process.


Milion chvilek pro demokracii   
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