Czech Television increases StarDance voting costs

Czech Television has increased the cost of voting for the StarDance competition, raising the price per vote from 13 CZK to 19 CZK. This change, which represents a nearly 50 percent increase, is intended to cover rising costs and inflation related to communication services.

Viewers can now vote via SMS, a mobile application, or the web, with a limit of ten votes per channel. A viewer utilizing all three methods could spend up to 570 CZK in a single evening. While Czech Television maintains that the new application is designed to improve accessibility, the move contrasts with international trends. For example, the BBC’s version of the format, Strictly Come Dancing, has transitioned to free internet-based voting and has discontinued SMS and telephone options.