Czech Television's main building at Kavčí hory
Czech Television's main building at Kavčí horyPhoto: VitVit, 2021 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Czech Television (Česká televize, ČT) is the public service television broadcaster of the Czech Republic. It was established on 1 January 1992 under the Czech Television Act No. 483/1991.[1] It broadcasts six channels: ČT1, ČT2, ČT24, ČT sport, ČT :D and ČT art.[1]*

Predecessor

Television in Czechoslovakia began trial broadcasting on 1 May 1953 from a Prague studio in the Měšťanská beseda building.[1] Czechoslovak Television was a state broadcaster throughout its existence from 1953 to 1992. It had its own chapter in the state budget, was directed by the government and followed the instructions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in its programming.[1]

Czech Television live broadcast on Hradčanské náměstí, January 2013
Czech Television live broadcast on Hradčanské náměstí, January 2013Photo: Aktron, 2013 · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Management

The Director General is selected and appointed in a public competition by the Czech Television Council, the supervisory body through which the public exercises its right to oversee ČT. The term of office is set by law.[2] The first Director General, from 1992 to 1998, was Ivo Mathé. Petr Dvořák led ČT the longest, from 2011 to 2023. He was followed by Jan Souček until 7 May 2025 and, on an acting basis, Michal Fila. Hynek Chudárek has been Director General since 1 July 2025.[2]

Funding

In 2026 ČT operates with a budget of 8.5 billion korunas, of which 6.7 billion comes from television licence fees.[3] On 15 June 2026 the government of Andrej Babiš approved a bill under which the fees would be replaced by a contribution from the state budget; in 2027 ČT would receive 5.74 billion korunas.[3] According to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, abolishing the fees will save both broadcasters at least 250 million korunas on collecting them; Culture Minister Oto Klempíř said the independence of both media would be guaranteed by the existing Czech Television and Czech Radio Acts.[3] Czech Television and Czech Radio said the cuts would mean reduced production and redundancies, and employees of both institutions declared strike readiness.[3] Protests were held against the bill, among them one outside the Office of the Government on the day it was approved.[3] The plan was also criticised at a demonstration of Million Moments for Democracy on 28 September 2026.[4]

Pages linking here

Sources

  1. Česká televize
  2. Česká televize
  3. ČTK / České noviny — 15 June 2026
  4. ČTK / České noviny — 28 September 2026