NATO Individual Democratic Institutions Research Fellowships (1994-1996)

Why Public Service Broadcasting Eastern vs. Western Europe: Circumstances and Challenge Catalin Preda (Romania) [Back to Index]

2.6. Czech Radio 2.6.1. History and evolution 1923 Czech (and Slovak) Radio first started broadcasting on a borrowed transmitter from somewhere near the capital-city Prague. The name of that first station was 'Radiozurnal', that means radio-journal, and it was kept until our days for the first channel of the Czech (and Slovak) Radio. 1930-1938 One by one, regional stations started to broadcast. Radio Praha, the external service of the Czech Radio started its broadcasts in English, French and German in August 1936. 1939-1945 Although Czech technique was one of the most advanced in the world at the time, radio broadcasting declined sharply due to German occupation and because of the war. 1945-1948 A transition period for the Czech (and Slovak) Radio in which a great work of reconstruction was carried out for eliminating war damages and for modernisation. 1948 A second classical and culture channel went on air. On the other hand the communists took the power and started the process of subordinating Czech (and Slovak) Radio to their political interests. 1949-1967 Broadcasting in Czechoslovakia developed very rapidly, especially in the regional field, where new stations started to broadcast one after the other. 1967-1968 It was the time of the 'Spring of Prague' when communist reformist leaders in Czechoslovakia allowed a freedom of speech unknown in the Soviet Bloc at that time. Czech (and Slovak) Radio was in the vanguard of this movement. 1968 With the August 1968 Soviet-led intervention of the Warsaw Treaty forces in Czechoslovakia (Romania refused to participate) the 'Spring of Prague' was brought to an end and with it is was gone, for many years, the freedom of speech, especially concerning those events. 1969-1989 The evolution of Czech Radio was similar to that of fellow public radio-stations in Central and Eastern Europe: strictly controlled development. As in other communist countries in the region, Czech Radio staff tried, and succeeded most of this period, to produce quality cultural, educational, musical and entertainment programmes. 1989 The "Velvet Revolution" brought down the communist regime and new opportunities for a free press, and for modernisation and development of broadcasting were present again in Czechoslovakia. 1991 A broadcasting law is voted by the Parliament permitting the licensing of independent radio and TV stations. 1992 The first private radio-station having a broadcasting licence. 1993 Czech Radio deals, along with the other segments of the society, with the peacefully split of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. 1994 Reorganization starts at all levels in Czech Radio's national and regional channels. This year was an important economic turning point for Czech Radio with the introduction of new economic and managerial rules. 1995 The US-financed station Radio Free Europe - Radio Liberty transferred its studios from Munich - Germany to Prague and became the sixth channel of the Czech Radio. 1996 Reorganization, renewal and development continue throughout Czech Radio's network and structures.

2.6.2. Legal framework The Audiovisual Law The Czech Government has passed through the Parliament comprehensive broadcasting legislation in March 1991. The new law permitted the immediate licensing of independent radio and TV stations. In fact, only a week later first seven private stations were granted broadcasting licences. Note: It took some months for the first station to effectively go on air but now more than 50 private local or regional radio-stations and three private nation-wide radio license holders are transmitting their commercial programmes. Naturally Czech Radio has experienced a decline in listenership, but it is aggressively working to improve programming and to promote more interaction with the listeners. There are still old laws that have not been repealed and that provide penalties for so-called attacks on government and public officials, although there have been no major problems in this area. There is continuing debate about foreign ownership of media in the Czech Republic, while the Audiovisual Law contains no limitation on foreign ownership of broadcasters. The Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting It is a governmental agency that has as its main role to allocate broadcasting frequencies to radio and TV stations, both public and private. It also controls the broadcasters in fulfilling their obligations assumed when the licences were granted. The Council may decide to suspend or to withdraw the licence if a broadcaster infringes the Audiovisual Law. The Czech Radio Council It is the supervisory body of the Czech Radio. It is composed of nine members, chosen by the Czech Parliament for a period of five years. The Director General of the Czech Radio The Council elects a Director General for a six-year term in office. The Director General is the statutory official of the institution and represents it in front of the authorities, in relations with other Czech or foreign broadcasters. The current Director General was installed on 1 July 1993 and his mandate expires in June 1999.

2.6.3. Czech Radio Network Czech Radio has six channels, numbered from one to seven (channel four does not exist yet). The source of income is the listener's licence fee (of about US$ 1 per month), advertising (0.2% of total broadcasting time, from 1 July 1996), and commercial activities permitted by law. CRo 1 - Radiozurnal is a 24 hour a day news and music channel, focusing on up-to-the-minute news and breaking events, based on despatches from throughout the Czech Republic and the World. The station broadcasts clear, objective and accurate reporting of news, and political and economic affairs. The programme includes also minority, religious, and ecological issues, sport events at home and abroad, traffic and weather bulletins, and other utility information. With the installation of the BASYS-system computers in the studios, "Cro 1" and all the other stations of Czech Radio are now able to bring the latest news more quickly to listeners. The total proportion of talk on "CRo 1" increased to over 55% in 1995. The rest of the broadcasting time is reserved to pop music. Cro 2 - Praha is an easy listening station for the entire family that keeps the public informed on key events in the Czech Republic and world-wide. On Sundays the station broadcasts church services "Cro 2" offers at the same time good entertainment, with humour, music of all kinds and self-helped programmes, education and documentaries, children's programmes, literary readings, dramatic programming and series, but also interviews with key members of the community. The station broadcasts 24 hours a day on AM frequencies. Cro 3 - Vltava is the old reliable Czech classical and culture station. It provides the listener, 24 hours a day, with cultural programming - from music by Czech and world composers to literature, to discussions of and reflections on cultural life. The station is concentrating on the promotion of Czech culture at home and abroad, placing a heavy emphasis on international exchange. 'Cro 3', for instance, has been offering recordings of the annual Prague Spring Festival for export abroad since its beginnings in 1948. The proportion devoted to classical music is somewhere around 52%. Cro 6 - Radio Free Europe it is a station of opinion, broadcasting nation-wide on short wave frequencies in co-operation with BBC, Radio Free Europe - RFE, Deutsche Welle and Voice of America - VOA. The programme, started on 6 November 1995, consist of news and current affairs, discussions, commentaries and analyses, detailed information on public affairs in neighbouring Slovak Republic, emphasis on regional and economic issues, English and German language courses. The station intends to offer to its Czech and Slovakian listeners a so-called 'view from outside' on domestic issues. Note: This station is a unique experiment in Central and Eastern Europe, based on the idea that people must be provided with the most extensive possible right to choose. It was also intended as a supplementary proof that the Czech Republic became an authentic democracy and it has no fear of foreign news-providers as it was the case during the communist years. Radio Free Europe, for instance, was jammed until 1989. CRo 7 - Radio Prague it is Czech Radio's external service and broadcasts 19.5 hours a day on short wave frequencies in 5 languages: Czech, German, English, French and Spanish. Spanning the world, Radio Prague consistently wins praise from listeners and trade journals for its professional news coverage and friendly broadcast style. Radio Prague broadcasts also domestically in English on Czech Radio's Regina regional station for "Americans in Prague" and other English-speaking listeners throughout the central Bohemian region of the country. On 31 August 1996 Radio Prague celebrated its 60th anniversary. Cro 5 - Czech Radio's Regional Stations. In addition to domestic and world news, Cro 5 focus on local issues and events. Staffed by people who know their region, each station has its own personality and profile. There are eight regional stations in the country, broadcasting on FM frequencies 12 hours a day each. Czech Radio's Musical Family: Includes the Radio Prague Symphony Orchestra; the Czech Radio Choir; Big Band Praha; the Disman Radio Children's Choir; the Pilsen Radio Orchestra; the Ostrava Radio Orchestra; the Brno Folk Radio Orchestra..

2.6.4. Perspectives The management of the Technical Division of the Czech Radio and The Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting started the preparations for establishing a 'Czech Commission for Digital Audio Broadcasting'. In this commission Czech Radio will play an important role in introducing this new type of radio-signal broadcasting. Czech Radio will soon no longer use the (so far) standard technology of 1/4" magnetic tape and replace it with a new digital medium - the magneto-optical disc (MOD), and digital editing system. Digital apparatuses have already been introduced in reporters' equipment and in on-location recording sets. In co-operation with other Czech Radio divisions, the Technical Division is currently participating to the installation of a new on-air complex with modern studios, all necessary support technology including a new digital signal switchboard, and a satellite broadcast centre. The satellite signal delivery to individual transmitters carrying the 'Cro 1', 'Cro 2', and 'Cro 3' programmes will be soon extended. Digital editing rooms will be built for recording Czech Radio's archive programmes. Here the old programmes will be digitally recorded and saved on CD-ROM's. In 1995 'Cro 6' (Radio Free Europe) was financed 100% by 'Radio Free Europe - Radio Liberty' a station financed by the US Congress that has ceased its Czech broadcasts when it has transferred to Prague its Munich studios. The Czech president Vaclav Havel and its government considered that it is useful to the democracy in the country that Radio Free Europe should continue its programmes in Czech language. On this basis the leadership in Prague decided that a Czech Radio Channel should take over the mission of the former Czech department of RFE. In 1996 the station is co-financed in equal shares by Czech Radio and by RFE. In 1999 the station will be entirely financed by Czech Radio, whose exclusive property will become.