Czech public media staff stage 24-hour strike against funding model change

Protest actions against financial model change

A 24-hour strike action initiated by employees of Czech Television (ČT) and Czech Radio (ČRo) began in the Czech Republic on 3 November. The main purpose of the protest is to oppose government plans to abolish mandatory television and radio licence fees and introduce a new funding system for public media. This was reported by the Czech news agency ČTK.

Restrictions on air and websites

The strike started at midnight and lasted throughout the day. On the ČT24 channel, presenters appeared on air in black clothing and read news from paper sheets against the backdrop of a darkened newsroom. Instead of regular programmes, archival broadcasts were aired, while short news bulletins were broadcast hourly.

Changes also affected other Czech Television channels. Some morning, informational and publicist programmes were cancelled, and weather forecast and sports news bulletins were limited. The children's channel ČT continues to operate in its usual mode.

At Czech Radio, most live broadcasts were replaced by music and repeats. Radiožurnál retained short news bulletins and traffic information. The operation of the ČT24 and iRozhlas news websites was also restricted.

Causes of the conflict and the government's position

The cause of the strike was a bill to abolish mandatory television and radio payments, transitioning to funding from the state budget. Employees of ČT and ČRo fear that the changes will lead to reduced funding and threaten the independence of public broadcasters.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš rejects these fears. According to him, the government has no intention of limiting the independence of television and radio, and the abolition of licence fees was part of the ANO movement's pre-election programme.

Demonstrations in support of public media are scheduled in several Czech cities throughout the day.