René Zavoral is the Director General of Czech Radio.
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René Zavoral is the Director General of Czech Radio.
In October 2026 he commented on the government’s draft amendment, which shifts the funding of Czech Radio and Czech Television from licence fees to the state budget. Under the proposal, Czech Radio is to receive CZK 2.065 billion from the state in 2027, roughly 400 million less than at present. The Chamber of Deputies sent the proposal to second reading on 24 October 2026.
On 26 October 2026 Zavoral told the Czech News Agency that he is ready for a substantive discussion with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, which in his view should take place publicly, for example in the Chamber of Deputies. He again called on the governing coalition to withdraw the bill. He described the talks on the fees so far as a diktat by the coalition and the prime minister. He demands that sufficient funds for the radio be preserved and statutory guarantees of its independence.
Babiš said the same day that he is willing to negotiate with Zavoral, but not publicly, and called him an “activist director”. In a February interview for Médiář, Zavoral said that Czech Radio would accept a cut in revenue of roughly 400 million crowns if the fee system were retained.
Chronology
- — Czech Television's director general Hynek Chudárek warned the Chamber of Deputies' media and culture committee that if the budget is cut by about a billion crowns, the television will not be able to function as it should, as the government proposal abolishes television and radio licence fees and shifts the funding of Czech Television and Czech Radio to the state budget. → ČTK / České noviny Echo24
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 26 October 2026
- iDNES.cz — 26 October 2026
- Blesk.cz — 26 October 2026
- Echo24 — 26 October 2026