Czechia’s government has approved changes to the way that national broadcaster ČT is funded. Instead of concession fees, the broadcaster will now be entirely funded by the government, which means cut will now be coming into force.
Special programming on ČT could be shelved
According to an announcement by the Czech government earlier this month, ČT will no longer be financed by TV licence fees that had been mandated. Instead, the channel will now be funded entirely by the government in Prague. Following new legislative changes, homes would have to pay a total of 205 Czech korunas (€8.45) a month in licence fees for both radio and television services.
Now, ČT will be given a fixed budget for the next year totalling 5.74billion korunas (€236.65million), with an extra 2.065billion (€85.1million) being given to the radio department. This is just the latest in a number of large drops in ČT’s funding, as its budget for the 2025/26 year came to 7.5billion korunas.
Because of the sharp drop in funding, several specialised programming could be in danger as a result of the restructuring of ČT’s finances. This includes its participation in Eurovision, where the cost of participation often runs into the hundreds of thousands of euro. No statement has yet been given by ČT regarding its participation at next year’s Contest, which would be the 20th anniversary of their first participation in the Contest.
Czechia’s Eurovision journey
Czechia made their debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007, with Kabát’s “Malá dama”; however, their debut entry finished last in a 28-song semi-final, scoring only 1 point. This kicked off three consecutive non-qualifications, with their best result coming in 2008, finishing in second-last place. Having withdrawn in 2009 due to poor results, Czechia returned to the Contest in 2015. In 2016, Czechia qualified for the first time with Gabriela Gunciková’s “I Stand”.
Czechia continued its internal selections for Eurovision 2026, selecting Daniel Zizka with “CROSSROADS”. The song was able to qualify for the final from the second semi-final, and ultimately finished in 16th place, scoring 113 points. Of these, only 9 came from the televote, whilst the remaining 104 points came from the jury.
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News Source: Vlada CZ
Photo Credit: ČT
Thomas James 
Tim J