The Czech government is planning a significant change in the payment of concession fees, which would extend the fees to those who use smartphones or tablets to watch television and listen to radio broadcasts. The proposal comes in response to requests from Czech Television and Czech Radio directors, Petra Dvořák and René Zavoral, to increase the fees. Currently, the fees apply to households and registered radio receivers, but the proposed changes would expand the scope to include mobile devices.

Minister of Culture, Martin Baxa (ODS), is currently negotiating the proposed changes, and discussions involve a working group of representatives from coalition parties and public media outlets. Czech Radio is requesting a 15 Czech koruna increase in the existing 45 koruna fee, while Czech Television is seeking a boost from the current 135 koruna fee.

Jan Lacina, a member of the working group and representative of the STAN party, emphasizes the need to redefine the concept of a television receiver. Under the proposed amendment, television receivers would encompass traditional television sets, phones, and computers. This expansion would result in approximately 600,000 additional households being subject to the concession fee. The fee increase is likely to be implemented from January 1, 2024.

Lacina suggests that fee adjustments should consider the budgets and sizes of the public media outlets. He proposes a higher fee increase for Czech Television than Czech Radio, taking into account the former’s budget of nearly seven billion Czech korun, compared to the latter’s budget of over two billion Czech korun.

The government is also considering the possibility of automatic fee increases in the future. However, there is no consensus within the coalition on this matter. Lacina supports fee adjustments based on inflation and is working on a mechanism that would require the Chamber of Deputies to revisit the issue periodically.

While the ANO movement suggests exempting senior citizens from paying the fees due to increased expenses resulting from the government’s handling of inflation, Lacina disagrees. He argues that the current fee amounts, 135 korun for television and 45 korun for radio, are manageable for households and highlights the negative impact of exemptions on public media, as observed in Poland.

The fee increase has garnered support from Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Marian Jurečka, who believes it is necessary to maintain the quality of news and public media. However, the issue remains divisive, and ANO’s involvement in the fee negotiations has been limited. The final decision on fee adjustments and potential exemptions is expected to be discussed in the Chamber of Deputies.

Article by Prague Forum