Czech public broadcasters launch one-day strike to protest government funding reform

Demonstrators gather at Wenceslas Square in Prague, Czechia, 03 November 2026, during a nationwide walkout by staff of public service broadcasters Czech Television and Czech Radio. Broadcasters, backed by trade unions, staged a one-day walkout and curtailed live programming to protest draft legislation proposed by Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ government that would abolish household license fees and fund the networks directly from the state budget. The bill, which cleared its initial parliamentary reading, envisages an approximate 15 percent cut to their operational budgets, raising alarms from international media watchdogs that state-budget dependency will undermine editorial independence.