Key facts
- Million Moments for Democracy said it expected 400,000 to 600,000 people at Letná Plain in Prague on November 15, 2026.
- The plan would end the licence fees that fund Czech Television and Czech Radio and finance them from the state budget.
- The proposal would cut the public broadcasters' budgets by about 15%, according to the report.
- Staff at Czech TV and Czech Radio have struck, and weeks of smaller demonstrations preceded the Prague rally.
- Babiš said in an op-ed that his government would not interfere in editorial work and called the criticism "hysterical outbursts".
Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to gather at Letná Plain in Prague on November 15, 2026, to oppose a government plan to end the licence fees that fund Czechia's public broadcasters. The organizing group Million Moments for Democracy said it expected 400,000 to 600,000 people, a figure it gave before the rally.
The plan would scrap the fees and finance Czech Television and Czech Radio from the state budget instead. Protesters say that change would give ministers more leverage over newsrooms. The proposal would cut the broadcasters' budgets by about 15%, according to the report.
The demonstration follows weeks of smaller protests in towns and cities and a strike by staff at Czech TV and Czech Radio. It is the latest challenge to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and his coalition of populist, hard-right nationalist and Eurosceptic parties.
Babiš, a billionaire who returned to power last year, said protesters were riling up the public with unfounded claims. In an op-ed published the week before the rally, he listed what he called the "seven lies" being spread over the licence fees, which total 205 koruna a month, and wrote: "Anyone who talks about 'nationalisation' [of public media] is deliberately lying." He added: "Under no circumstances will we interfere in editorial work."
The European Broadcasting Union, the European Federation of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and the International Press Institute have criticized the plan and compared it to moves by Slovakia's prime minister, Robert Fico, and Hungary's former premier, Viktor Orbán. Daniel Stach, a television presenter and a prominent figure in the campaign, said some protesters would be expressing wider opposition to the government.