Overview
- The lower house gave initial approval after an early-morning, fast-tracked vote held at 4:36 a.m. that moved the bill to committee for further readings.
- Several thousand people filled Prague’s Old Town Square on Sunday to protest the rushed procedure and organisers have called a larger rally for Nov. 15 while public-media staff announced a strike for Nov. 3.
- The draft law would abolish household licence fees and replace them with direct state budget allocations, a change officials say increases funding transparency but that would cut broadcasters’ total funding by about 15%.
- Domestic and international press groups, President Petr Pavel, labour unions and university leaders warned the shift would make Czech Television and Czech Radio vulnerable to political pressure and promised legal and political challenges.
- The bill still needs approval from the upper house and faces a likely constitutional-court challenge, a path opponents say could determine whether the move follows European norms or mirrors regional efforts to bring public media under political influence.