Czech businesses rush to register for new media fees amid confusion

Recent changes to Czech media law have led to significant confusion among businesses and self-employed individuals, culminating in a late-June surge of registrations that overloaded the websites of public broadcasters Czech Television (ČT) and Czech Radio (ČRo). The rush was prompted by a misunderstanding of a new system for calculating public broadcasting fees for companies, which took effect in May.

Misleading information circulating in some media led many entrepreneurs to believe they faced a strict registration deadline of June 30, 2025, with a potential fine of CZK 5,000 (approx. €204) for non-compliance. This caused the television fee website to become overloaded and the radio's registration portal to crash, filling social media with complaints from business owners worried about penalties.

In the Czech Republic, households and businesses are required to pay monthly fees to fund public service media. A recent legislative amendment changed this system for legal entities and the self-employed, basing the fee on the number of employees rather than the number of devices.

Broadcasters have clarified that the June 30 deadline was not for new registrations. "The transitional period required existing fee payers—those who were already paying the television fee before May 1, 2025—to report their number of employees by June 30," explained Radek Konečný of the Czech Television press department. He noted that these businesses were contacted individually via their Data Box, the Czech secure electronic communication system for sending and receiving official documents.

New payers, whose obligation arose only after the law changed, were not bound by this date. "They can comfortably register even after June 30, whenever they access their online fee account," assured Martina Májíček Poliaková, Director of Strategic Development for Czech Radio.

Both institutions have also sought to dispel fears of automatic fines. Czech Radio's Director General, René Zavoral, emphasized a lenient approach, particularly for those who owe nothing under the new rules, such as self-employed individuals with no staff. "In cases where no payment obligation arises, our goal is not to penalize entrepreneurs, but to ensure fulfillment of the legal registration requirement in a calm and correct manner," Zavoral stated. Similarly, ČT confirmed that no penalty would be levied if a late registration resulted in a zero-fee assessment.

Under the new law, any business or organization that uses a device capable of receiving a broadcast signal—now defined to include smartphones, tablets, and laptops—must register. However, payment is tiered based on the number of full-time equivalent employees. Businesses with 24 or fewer employees are exempt from payment but are still required to register under a zero-rate tariff.

Fees begin for companies with 25 to 49 employees, who pay a multiple of the basic household fee. The amount increases progressively for larger companies. For example, the monthly television fee (based on a standard household rate of CZK 150, approx. €6.10) is CZK 750 (approx. €30.60) for this first tier, while the radio fee (based on a CZK 55 rate, approx. €2.25) is CZK 275 (approx. €11.20). For companies with over 500 employees, the monthly fees are CZK 15,000 (approx. €612) for television and CZK 5,500 (approx. €224) for radio.

Several types of organizations are exempt from payment, including associations, schools, and employers where more than half of the staff are persons with disabilities.

The new obligation to register begins 15 days after a business acquires a relevant device. Despite the technical difficulties caused by the registration spike—which saw ČT's website handle over 700,000 users in a week—both broadcasters have since reinforced their server capacity and report their systems are now fully functional.