A coalition of international media organisations led by the European Broadcasting Union has warned that proposed reforms to public service media funding in the Czech Republic risk undermining both financial sustainability and editorial independence.
The proposals under discussion by the Czech government include a significant reduction in licence fee contributions, with exemptions set to cover around a quarter of households – including over-75s, people with disabilities and young dependents under 26 – as well as more than 17,000 businesses.
Industry bodies have also raised concerns about plans to remove the inflation indexation mechanism, which currently allows funding levels to keep pace with rising costs.
Public broadcasters Czech Television and Czech Radio have warned the changes could have severe economic consequences, potentially limiting their ability to deliver public service obligations.
The reforms are being positioned as a transitional step towards the full abolition of the licence fee model, with a shift to direct state budget funding envisaged from 2027.
The EBU and co-signatories, including the European Federation of Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, said any overhaul must be transparent, subject to broad consultation and aligned with the European Media Freedom Act.
They stressed that stable, predictable and independent funding is essential for public service media to maintain editorial autonomy and support democratic pluralism.
The intervention comes amid wider debate across Europe over sustainable funding models for public broadcasters, as governments balance political, economic and technological pressures on traditional licence fee systems.
