Thousands of residents, families and activists streamed into Prague’s Old Town Square on Sunday, blocking streets and shouting "We've had enough," to oppose Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s coalition’s overnight decision to scrap licence fees for TV and radio and cut public broadcasting budgets by roughly 15%.
The bill, which replaced the 1.5 % of households’ licence fee with a direct state allocation, was thrust onto the agenda at 4:36 am, leaving little room for debate before the lower house passed it. Babis defended the move as a transparency measure, while opposition deputies called it a stealth slide toward political interference.
International watchdogs—including the European Broadcasting Union, Reporters Without Borders and the International Press Institute—have warned that the reform threatens financial independence and echo concerns that Hungary and Slovakia’s similar changes bolstered pro‑government media. President Petr Pavel urged expert scrutiny, noting that the Czech model has long been a rare success in Central Europe.
A 94‑year‑old demonstrator recalled two state takeovers of television, and the crowd’s chants of "Resignation" and "We won’t let this country be destroyed" reflected a history of censorship and the fear that the new plan could repeat it. Public‑media staff have already announced a planned strike for November 3, with a larger rally slated for Letna Park on November 15, the day before the Velvet Revolution anniversary.
The legislation now sits in committee, where it must secure a majority and subsequently receive upper‑house approval before taking effect later this year. The next hearing is scheduled for next week, and activists are poised to press for a public debate at the parliamentary gate.