The current government does not intend to increase TV (currently CZK 135 per month) and radio (now CZK 45) fees. Culture Minister Martin Baxa (ODS) said this on Sunday.
“Our government coalition does not want to increase the concession fees. I think there are the right reasons to do so, “he said.
More importantly, for the government is the composition of the Council of Czech Television (ČT). The council is now filled with its average number of members, which is 15, and it is up to the board, together with the management of ČT, to advise on how to address the poor financial situation of the broadcaster.
“I would just like to point out that we all agree on this, even with the director-general, that there should be a possibility of an audit of the management by the Supreme Audit Office,” Baxa said.
ČT’s CEO, Petr Dvořák, confirmed that he is not opposed to an audit by the SAO. However, he stressed that if the funding situation is not resolved by the end of 2023, the announced cuts will only be the beginning of further reductions.
At the same time, Dvořák suggested that the situation could be resolved by temporarily extending the advertising time on ČT’s broadcasts or by changing the definition of a taxpayer so that the media law would also apply to users watching ČT’s broadcasts via the internet.