Czech Lawmakers Send Broadcast Fee Bill to Committees After Night Session

Czech households would stop paying the 205 crown ($9.45) broadcasting fee under a bill that lawmakers advanced from the floor early Saturday. The charge would be replaced by money drawn from the state budget.

The overnight session ran into the early hours before coalition lawmakers voted to refer the measure to committees for further discussion. Under the proposal, Czech Television and Czech Radio would each see funding reduced by about 15 percent, with nominal funding then held flat for several years.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis, a billionaire who took office last December, pledged to abolish the fee before taking power. His three-party government is backed by the far-right SPD party. In a Facebook post late Friday, he rejected claims that the plan threatens press freedom: "There is no war for independent media," he wrote. "There is no fight for democracy and no nationalisation of media is being prepared."

Babis has said the new model treats poorer households more fairly and would push outlets to operate more efficiently. The government has frequently criticized public and private media coverage of its policies and has accused some outlets of bias.

Opposition parties have compared the changes to reforms carried out under Viktor Orban in neighbouring Hungary. Employees at the public broadcasters staged a strike in June, arguing that tying their funding to the state budget would expose them to government pressure.

Czech Television is the most-watched broadcaster across several age groups, and public media rank among the most trusted news sources in the country. A civic group has called a public demonstration for Sunday, and journalists and other employees at the broadcasters have announced a strike for November 3.