Continuation of the heated debate from TV Nova
Oto Klempíř and Martin Baxa had already clashed during Saturday’s discussion on TV Nova’s ‘Za pět minut dvanáct’, with the new bill being the main topic on which both politicians did not mince their words. The debate at the DIGIMEDIA 2026 conference will offer more scope for discussion and confrontation with other guests: Marit af Björkesten, Director-General of the Finnish public service broadcaster YLE, Milan Fridrich, Deputy Director-General of Czech Television; Martina Májíček Poliaková, Director of Strategic Development at Czech Radio; Marek Singer, President of the Association of Commercial Television Stations; Jiří Hrabák, Chairman of the Association of Private Broadcasters; and David Smoljak (STAN), Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Media.
Did the previous government destabilise the situation surrounding public service media by pushing through an increase in the TV and radio licence fee and extending this obligation to households with a computer, tablet or smartphone? Or is it, on the contrary, the current cabinet and its plan to abolish the licence fees and transfer the funding of Czech Television and Czech Radio to the state budget that is destabilising the Czech media market? These are just some of the questions to which the guests of the opening debate at the DIGIMEDIA 2026 conference will seek answers, led by moderator Daniel Stach. The views of the current and former Ministers of Culture on the method of funding public service media differ diametrically.
Oto Klempíř believes the law will take effect from the New Year
Minister Oto Klempíř and his department aim to replace the existing legislation concerning Czech Television and Czech Radio. However, his draft bill faces fierce criticism from the opposition, media experts and lawyers, and hundreds of comments were received during the inter-ministerial consultation process, including from government departments. The inter-ministerial consultation process on the bill ended on 14 May, with 30 entities, including 12 ministries, taking the opportunity to comment, and hundreds of comments were received from them. The Coalition Council is due to discuss the bill on 25 May, after which debates with the directors-general of Czech Television and Czech Radio are scheduled. Once the amendments have been incorporated, the bill is to be discussed by the government and subsequently forwarded to the Chamber of Deputies, where the opposition is preparing extensive filibustering.
Despite the tight schedule, Culture Minister Oto Klempíř still believes that the bill will be passed and will come into force on 1 January 2027. However, this deadline is considered unrealistic not only by representatives of the opposition but also by the Ministry of the Interior, which proposes postponing its entry into force until 1 July 2027. The discussion at the DIGIMEDIA 2026 conference will be the first expert platform on which both the bill’s sponsor and its opponents will comment on the law.
The partners of the 21st edition of the DIGIMEDIA 2026 conference are Czech Television, Czech Radio, the Czech Telecommunications Office, Czech Radiocommunications, the Association of Mobile Network Operators, the Association of Communication Agencies and others. Media partners include Averia, Marketing & Media magazine, and the websites MediaGuru.cz and Televizniweb.cz.
A detailed conference programme, list of speakers and registration are available at www.acra-mk.cz.
About the DIGIMEDIA conference
DIGIMEDIA is the largest professional gathering focused on audiovisual media and broadcasting in the Czech Republic. It brings together representatives from television and radio broadcasting, digital platforms, network operators and regulatory bodies. The conference has long been dedicated to topics such as media, content distribution, advertising, paid services and media legislation. The event is organised by the Association of Czech Advertising Agencies and Marketing Communication (AČRA MK). The event has been held since 2006.
Media contacts
Mgr. Pavel Brabec
President of AČRA MK
pavel.brabec@commonline.cz
420 602 330 370
Jan Potůček
Programme Director of the DIGIMEDIA conference
potucek@mediar.cz
420 606 222 928
Veronika Maxová
Head of Production
acra@acra-mk.cz