Mass Prague protest opposes state takeover of Czech broadcasters

On Tuesday evening thousands of people gathered on Prague's Old Town Square to demonstrate against a government bill that would shift the financing of Czech Television (ČT) and Czech Radio (ČRo) from licence fees to the state budget, cutting roughly 1.4 billion CZK from the two public broadcasters. The march, organised by the civic group Milion chvilek, featured Czech flags, placards demanding the withdrawal of the legislation and a procession to the ČRo building in Vinohradská street.

Ministers of Culture Oto Klempíř (Motoristi) met with representatives of ČT and ČRo unions on the same day. The unions later complained that the ministry’s press release overstated the level of agreement reached in the talks. They continue to demand that the current fee‑based funding model, which provides about 6.7 billion CZK for ČT and 2.5 billion CZK for ČRo this year, be preserved.

Organisers announced further “media defence” marches in 12 regional towns on 17 May and a follow‑up rally in front of the Czech Government office a week later, underscoring concerns that the proposed financing change could jeopardise the independence of the public media.