Czechia's coalition government forced a bill abolishing licence fees for public broadcasters Czech Television (ČT) and Czech Radio (ČRo) through its first parliamentary reading in the early hours of Saturday, with governing parties ANO, SPD and Motoristé sobě voting it through just after 4:30 a.m., according to Lidové noviny.

President Petr Pavel said the manner in which the bill was negotiated "raises doubts about the intentions of the proposers," while opposition lawmakers accused Prime Minister Andrej Babiš of rewriting how Czech media are financed, according to a Deník N report.

The dispute spilled into culture hours later: during the evening broadcast of ČT's dance show StarDance, host Marek Eben told viewers that good would triumph and that "the devil will take all the bad ones," per Lidové noviny.

HYPOTHESIS: Prague's move fits a pattern seen in Hungary, where the state broadcaster was overhauled under Viktor Orbán, and in Slovakia, where RTVS became STVR under Robert Fico — both governments altered public-broadcaster funding before reshaping editorial leadership. Supporting this: the Czech bill also targets funding first. Against it: the bill has cleared only a first reading, the concern comes from President Pavel rather than an opposition rival, and no leadership changes at ČT or ČRo have been proposed alongside it.

The bill also intersects with EU law: the European Media Freedom Act, in force since 2024, requires member states to ensure public broadcasters' funding is adequate, stable and protected from arbitrary political interference.

The bill still needs further readings and Senate approval before it reaches Pavel's desk; a presidential veto could be overridden by the coalition's lower-house majority. Whether the European Commission treats the funding change as a press-freedom matter remains an open question.