Crisis in Czech Television: Is Public Broadcasting Losing Its Independence?

Amidst a live political debate called ‘Questions of Václav Moravec’ on the 8th of March, its well-known host and journalist, Václav Moravec, announced his departure from Czech Television (ČT). In the weeks since, Moravec’s departure has intensified public debate over the broadcaster’s objectivity, financial future, stability, and overall direction.

To understand the current state of the broadcaster, it is crucial to first look at its role and mission towards its viewers. As a public service broadcaster, ČT is obliged by law to provide objective, balanced, and accurate news coverage. This model is underpinned by its unique funding system; the television concession fees. These are paid by all households and businesses that own any device television signal receiver, including mobile phones or computers, and are set at 150 Kč per month.

In theory, this type of broadcaster should resist any content-related pressure from interest groups, influential businesspeople or politicians. However, this task could soon become almost impossible to achieve. The scenario is on the table, as the current Czech government is openly speaking about scrapping concession fees altogether, and financing ČT solely from the state’s yearly budget.

The current Czech prime minister, Andrej Babiš (ANO), has been advocating for such a change for a long time. ANO made that position clear ahead of the 2025 parliamentary elections, as one of the party’s slogans read, ‘Vote for cancelling TV and radio fees.'

ANO’s coalition partner, the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD), has also backed the change in ČT’s financing. And in 2025, the two parties criticized the already mentioned fee increase, arguing that the increase would make Czech Television even more biased in favor of the previous government.

After the inauguration of the new government, the coalition’s plan to scrap concession fees started to emerge. Based on the government’s policy statement, the legislation is to be prepared by the Ministry of Culture. However, this portfolio was handed to the Motorists for Themselves party (AUTO), who did not agree with cancelling the concession fees. Their candidate, singer and political commentator Oto Klempíř, repeatedly stated that he was against such a change. However, a few weeks after taking over the Ministry, Klempíř completely changed his position and aligned with the coalition. From that moment, chaos has become a clear pattern in the government’s steps, especially when it comes to this law. Firstly, the coalition spoke about financing Czech Television solely from the state budget. This law was supposed to be thoroughly debated, prepared, and examined by the Ministry of Culture.

In late March, a group of MPs, led by SPD chairman Tomio Okamura, announced they would propose their own bill. According to them, the legislation should change the fee in a way that would exempt certain groups from paying it. These groups would include elderly people over 75 years of age, young and financially vulnerable individuals, and several others. However, according to Oto Klempíř (AUTO), the Ministry had no idea such a law was being created, saying he was ‘not even sure whether or not to vote for it’. Later on, however, he once again made a U-turn, and decided to support the proposal backed by Okamura.

Chaos is not only present on the political scene, but also inside the television itself. Apart from the classic management and directorate, ČT has another crucial, and very controversial, organ. The so-called Czech Television Council is a supervisory body of the medium, which consists of 18 members chosen by the Chamber of Deputies. These councilors are tasked with e.g., appointing and dismissing ČT’s director general, approving the television’s yearly budget among other duties.

In previous years, this council has been involved in several issues and disputes. Now, several of its members appear to be acting against their initial promise—that is, to protect the public broadcaster and ensure it remains independent. Because Council members are elected by parliament, critics argue that some nominees are chosen less for their independence than for their political alignment. The current composition appears to be more sympathetic to the priorities of Babiš's government.

Some members of ČT’s Council, such as Lubomír ‘Xaver’ Veselý and Pavel Matocha, are well known for their criticism of concession fees and of Czech Television's overall direction. These two, alongside the majority of the council, continue to make controversial statements that are criticized by several managers and commentators inside the television itself. Some critics argue that the Council's conduct has contributed to public doubts about ČT, although public-service media still rank among the country's most trusted news sources. On the other hand, Veselý and other councilors argue that their interventions are aimed at improving the broadcaster and defending the interests of viewers.

Although councilors are not supposed to directly decide on the programming mix, they often tend to intervene in it. In 2024, an investigative program called ‘168 Hours’ was cancelled by the then director general, Jan Souček. The cancellation of the show, alongside the departure of its host Nora Fridrichová, was caused by the alleged ‘violation of ČT’s code of conduct, intra-editorial conflicts and communication issues’. Fridrichová and some media commentators, however, suggested that political pressure and hostility from parts of the Council also played a role in the decision. It could be argued that their motivation for this move was the program’s repeated uncovering of several controversies tied to Tomio Okamura (SPD), Vojtěch Filip (KSČM) and others.

168 Hours was not the only program criticized by ČT’s council. Other programs that faced similar pressure included Reportéři ČT, another investigative program which uncovers corruption scandals, or the already mentioned Otázky Václava Moravce. The latter had long been criticised by Pavel Matocha and other councillors, mainly for one reason. That is Moravec’s unwillingness to invite Tomio Okamura (SPD) onto one of the most popular political discussions in Czechia. Before his March 2026 appearance, Okamura had not appeared on Otázky Václava Moravce for years. By that time, he had also become the President of the Chamber of Deputies.

For a long time, Moravec justified his steps by referring to ČT’s code of conduct, which states that he must invite representatives of relevant political parties proportionately, to ensure important political views on topics are represented. This part does not explicitly require party leaders themselves to be invited. On that interpretation, Moravec and his team argued that the program remained within the broadcaster’s rules. After his departure, Moravec also said the Council had begun pressuring individual programs through complaints about alleged Code violations, effectively turning itself into a kind of programming body.

However, the Czech Television Council refused to accept this as a valid reason. And in early 2026, its members ordered ČT’s current director general, Hynek Chudárek, to resolve the situation. Chudárek thus gave Moravec an ultimatum — Okamura must be invited to ‘Questions of Václav Moravec’ by the end of February. And Moravec did eventually adhere to this order, hosting Tomio Okamura, and three other politicians, on the 8th of March 2026. And, as mentioned earlier, Moravec announced that he would leave the television right after the debate ended, saying: “Under current circumstances, I can no longer guarantee the independence of editorial work (in OVM)”.

Not only the end of hosts like Moravec or Fridrichová, but also the possible future financial situation of Czech Television, can eventually lead to its absolute collapse. Independent, free, and stable media are a core component of the democratic system. And losing Czech Television, as well as Czech Radio, could weaken the nation's democratic system, as well as its alignment with the country’s western partners.