Czechs Set for Mass Protest Over Plan to Overhaul Public Media Funding

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to gather in Prague's Letna park this weekend in what is likely to be the largest demonstration yet against the Czech government's attempt to push a public media funding bill through parliament. The right-populist coalition led by Prime Minister Andrej Babis fast-tracked the first of three readings of the legislation in a surprise overnight session, securing a vote of approval at 4:36 a.m. on October 24.

The proposal would abolish the license fee model that currently finances Czech Television (CT) and Czech Radio (CRo), replacing it with direct funding from the state budget. The three governing parties, Babis's centrist ANO, the far-right SPD and the radical conservative Motorists, whose voter bases tend to be less affluent, argue the license fee amounts to an unfair tax. They say the new system, which would cut funding for the two broadcasters by around 15 percent in the first year, would make them more efficient, and note that several other European Union countries have adopted similar approaches.

Critics have forcefully rejected those arguments. Opposition parties, civil society groups and international watchdogs accuse the government of trying to weaken the independence of broadcasters whose critical reporting has long irritated ANO and the SPD in particular. Analysts point out that, unlike models elsewhere in the EU that guarantee long-term financial stability and editorial independence, the Czech proposal offers neither. CT and CRo have warned that the reduced budget would force cuts to programming and staff. When the bill was first published over the summer, Vaclav Stetka of the European New School of Digital Studies told DW that such "dramatic budget cuts represent an act of cultural vandalism."

The manner in which the bill was advanced has fueled further anger. "The confrontational approach, the attempts to limit parliamentary debate and the government's rhetoric towards journalists and critics have all contributed to the public backlash," Otto Eibl, a political scientist at Masaryk University in Brno, told DW.

The response was immediate. Crowds picketed parliament through the night as the first reading was pushed through, and rallies have since spread to cities and towns across the country, many led by students and joined by unions, Churches and educational and cultural institutions. CT and CRo staff called a strike in early November, disrupting television and radio schedules nationwide.

Sunday's rally is timed two days before the anniversary of the start of the Velvet Revolution, which toppled communism in what was then Czechoslovakia in 1989. The organizer, the civil society group Million Moments for Democracy, drew an estimated 300,000 people onto the streets during Babis's first term as prime minister in 2019 and more than 200,000 earlier this year.

Analysts say the strength of the reaction reflects both the government's sudden move to deliver on a core pledge made before the October 2025 election and Babis's long-standing ambition, after his attempt to engineer control of CT's governing council was thwarted during his 2017 to 2021 term. Stetka said repeated attacks on public media by Czech governments reflect a political culture common to Europe's post-communist states. "The political elite has never accepted the independence of public media," he asserted. In Czechia, the broadcasters hold special status as cornerstones of democracy, a standing forged in the Czech TV crisis of 2000 to 2001, when staff occupied CT's studios and mass protests forced the government of the day to retreat. "The fight over the public service media has become a symbol of the defense of liberal democratic values and institutions," Eibl said.

As anger has grown, the government has tried to calm the situation. Babis has said a new proposal moving public media funding off budget and guaranteeing editorial independence would be drafted and opened to full debate. Critics remain unconvinced, citing a lack of detail and signs that other government members intend to stay the course. "Words are worth nothing," Million Moments for Democracy said. "While people stand up for independent media, the government continues to act as if it owns the country."

The government holds the parliamentary majority needed to pass the bill and override likely vetoes from the Senate and President Petr Pavel, but doing so may carry a political price. Polls suggest support for the coalition has weakened and could fall further if the protests merge with wider frustration over the cost of living and housing, as seen in recent student-led demonstrations in France and elsewhere in Europe. "The real risk for the government is that the media issue becomes a lightning rod for broader dissatisfaction," said Martin Vokalek of the Prague-based EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy.

Babis has announced he will skip the November 17 Velvet Revolution anniversary celebrations in the hope his absence might "calm the tense situation." Still, analysts see little danger of violence, noting the anger remains tightly focused on the media proposal. "I would not expect French-style scenes," Vokalek told DW, pointing to the same "large, peaceful and civic Czech protest culture" that gave the Velvet Revolution and the 1993 Velvet Divorce from Slovakia their name.