Czech Television (CT)
Czech Television (Česká televize, ČT) remains the Czech Republic’s public television broadcaster. Originating from Czechoslovak Television (ČST), the state broadcaster founded in 1953, ČT emerged following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, continuing to operate several channels including the generalist ČT1, sports-oriented ČT Sport, and the 24-hour news service ČT24. ČT3, aimed at older audiences, was relaunched in April 2020 and subsequently discontinued on 1 January 2023.
Media assets
Television: ČT1, ČT2, ČT24, ČT Sport, ČT Déčko, ČT Art
State Media Matrix Typology
Ownership and governance
ČT was founded under the Czech Television Act of 1991 as a public corporation, institutionally separate and publicly accountable.
Its primary governance structure is the Czech Television Council, comprising members appointed by the Chamber of Deputies (12) and the Senate (6), drawn from civil society organizations, and barred from political office. Council members serve six-year terms, with one-third renewed every two years—mechanisms built into the system to protect against politicization. A Supervisory Commission of five members, elected by the Council, oversees financial performance and reports to the Council. The Council also appoints the Director General.
In October 2023, Jan Souček, the former director of ČT’s Brno studio, was appointed Director-General on a six-year mandate. However, by May 2025, the Czech Television Council voted to dismiss him, a decision confirmed on 6 May 2025, with 15 out of 17 councillors (as the council size was at the moment) supporting his removal. Council members specifically cited managerial misconduct, including non-standard severance payments, excessive redaction of contracts, and damaging public communication, such as threats to cancel channelsm, which fell outside his authority, as key factors in their decision. Souček rejected the criticisms as unfounded, though acknowledged the council’s concerns as serious.
In the aftermath, Hynek Chudárek, the former commercial director, was elected as the new Director-General on 25 June 2025, set to assume office in July; his rival, Milan Fridrich, agreed to serve as his statutory deputy. Chudárek pledged no sweeping personnel upheaval, but announced plans to reduce the executive team from 19 to nine members, signaling a shift towards consolidation and financial discipline.
Source of funding and budget
Funding continues to derive primarily from the monthly television license fee, set at CZK 135 per month, supplemented by limited advertising, sponsorships, and other commercial income. The current financing model, which involves households paying a license fee, is designed to protect the broadcaster from government influence.
In 2021, the broadcaster operated with a budget of CZK 6.93bn (€271m), according to a company annual report. License fees accounted for approximately 87% of that amount, while the remainder came from commercial activities such as advertising sales and sponsorships.
In 2022, Czech Television had a total budget of CZK 7.17bn (€290m). The license fees generated roughly CZK 6.23bn (€252.m) of that, according to a report issued by the broadcaster.
In 2023, Czech Television had a budget of CZK 7.4bn (€306m), according to its annual report. Approximately CZK 6.37bn (€264m) of that amount came from license fee revenues.
In 2024 and 2025, Czech Television operated with budgets of CZK 7.95bn and CZK 7.49 bn, the license fee revenue accounting for CZK 6.83bn and CZK 6.37bn, respectively.
In April 2025, the Czech Parliament and Senate approved the so-called “big media amendment” (velká mediální novela), a reform of the Czech Television Act and Czech Radio Act that came into force on 1 May 2025, modernizing the funding of the country’s public broadcasters.
For Czech Television, the amendment brought the first increase in license fees since 2008, raising the monthly household fee from CZK 135 to CZK 150. The reform broadened the fee base to all households with internet access, regardless of whether they own a TV set, and introduced a new fee model for businesses, scaled by employee numbers. Importantly, sponsorship on ČT channels was capped at 260 hours per year, with a quarter of those revenues channelled into the State Culture Fund, further reducing dependence on advertising. An automatic inflation-linked mechanism was also added, ensuring future fee adjustments if inflation exceeds 6%. These measures are intended to stabilize ČT’s revenues and shield it from the chronic funding debates that have previously threatened its operations.
Editorial independence
The government does not impose any obligations on Czech Television that would compromise its editorial independence. From time to time, there is evidence of attempts to influence the station by appointing people close to the government to the Czech Television Council. However, despite these attempts, the balance of power in the council has remained stable, preventing politicians from exerting control over the station’s editorial policies.
After his party was removed from power in the latest election held in October 2021, former Prime Minister Andrej Babis began accusing Czech Television of censorship. However, these accusations have so far been proven groundless. In a speech in the Czech Parliament in early July 2022, Babis said that Czech Television failed to broadcast interventions in Parliament by opposition MPs, which, in his opinion, amounted to censorship. However, he didn’t offer any concrete examples. Moreover, he made those accusations while his speech was being broadcast live by Czech Television.
The operations of Czech Television are guided by the Czech Television Code, which is aligned with the legal requirements outlined in the Czech Television Act. This document sets out the principles of public service provision for television broadcasting, which Czech Television and its staff must adhere to. According to the law, failure to comply with the provisions of the Code will be considered a breach of discipline under the Labour Code as specified by the relevant special law. The code establishes a comprehensive set of principles that govern the station’s news coverage, ensuring its independence and allowing its journalists to work without constraints or restrictions.
To further protect autonomy, Czech Television established an Editorial Panel in 2014 to handle issues related to editorial independence. The panel comprises independent staff from the News Department, separate from the General Director. The station also has an Ethics Panel consisting of five members appointed by the General Director in consultation with the ČT Council. The Director General is responsible for implementing changes proposed through the Editorial Panel’s recommendations. If the Director disagrees with some of those recommendations, the issue must be submitted to the Ethics Panel for analysis.
Finally, Czech Television also has an Ombudsman office, created in 2018, responsible for addressing viewer complaints about the station’s programs. That same year, Director General Petr Dvořák established the Audience Council, an advisory body comprising representatives from 60 organizations, including trade unions, professional associations, cultural institutions, and NGOs, whose purpose is to identify the needs of citizens not adequately reflected in ČT’s programming.
Developments in 2025 underline both the resilience and the vulnerability of these safeguards. In May 2025, the Czech Television Council dismissed Director General Jan Souček, citing managerial failings and concerns about financial management (see Ownership and governance above), an episode that highlighted how governance disputes can spill over into questions of editorial direction. Although the Council’s decision was formally about management, critics warned that such dismissals risk undermining ČT’s editorial independence by creating an atmosphere of political pressure.
Moreover, in the run-up to the October 2025 elections, public media, including ČT, came under heightened scrutiny. Civil society groups and international watchdogs urged Czech authorities to shield public service broadcasters from attempts at capture, particularly in the context of fierce debates over license fee reform.
Taken together, these developments demonstrate that Czech Television’s editorial safeguards remain robust and multifaceted, anchored in statutory codes, internal panels, and oversight mechanisms, yet they operate within an increasingly contested political and financial landscape. Despite recurrent pressures and governance disputes, there is no evidence of direct government control over editorial output, and the broadcaster continues to merit classification as Independent Public (IP) in our typology.
September 2025