In their campaign ahead of last autumn's election, the populist and far-right parties that now make up Czechia's coalition government promised a revamp of Czech Television (CT) and Czech Radio (CRo).
On June 15, the cabinet kept this promise by giving the nod to a corresponding bill.
If approved by both houses of parliament and signed by the president, the legislation will from next year scrap the current license fee, which costs households and businesses the equivalent of €8.50 ($9.75) a month, and move funding of the two outlets to the state budget.
Prime Minister Andrej Babis, a populist centrist billionaire, insists that the new model will be fairer, eliminating a "flat tax" that demands poorer households — not coincidentally the core of his electorate — pay the same as any other.
He also said it will push CT and CRo to improve efficiency.
