Czech Television plans new public affairs programs

Czech Television is currently developing several new public affairs programs, which may be introduced to its Monday programming lineup. These projects are still in the early stages, with only working titles, and pilot episodes are expected to be produced between late September and October.

It is not yet clear when these shows will be included in the schedule or on which channel they will air.

General director Jan Souček shared details of the new programs during a public meeting of the Czech Television Council. Three of the shows are being developed by the news division, led by Petr Mrzena, while the fourth is under the content division, headed by Tereza Polachová.

The first potential new program is an expansion of the investigative series Reportéři (Reporters), titled Reportéři Speciál (Reporters Special). Each episode would focus on a major issue affecting society, combining investigative journalism with solutions journalism. The format would follow a consistent structure, featuring a report, a personal story, and an interview.

The second project, tentatively titled Fenomén (Phenomenon), would explore topics not typically covered by Czech Television’s existing public affairs lineup. Souček cited rising violence in society, childhood obesity, dental care availability and cost, and the education system as examples of potential topics. This program would not have a presenter and would be entirely report-based.

The third show, Galerie (Gallery), is described as "positive societal journalism." Each episode would be a documentary portrait of an interesting personality from various fields, both well-known and lesser-known. Souček emphasized that the program would have a strong public service focus and thorough research. "This type of journalism has traditionally been very popular with viewers," he explained.

The fourth format is a "purely public affairs weekly summary with a critical and reflective perspective." This show is being developed outside the news and public affairs division and is a content division project.

Meanwhile, Výborná show, a talk show hosted by Lucie Výborná, will take over the timeslot previously held by the weekly program 168 hodin (168 Hours), starting on October 6. Souček clarified that Výborná show is not a replacement for 168 hodin and stated that it is not the role of the Czech Television Council to discuss which program fits into a specific time slot.

"Czech Television has no intention of abandoning public affairs programming—whether it be critical, current, or investigative journalism. Investigative reporting remains a cornerstone of Reportéři ČT. No one is threatening the existence of Reportéři. The reasons for discontinuing 168 hodin have been explained multiple times," Souček stated, addressing concerns from council members that critical journalism was being replaced by entertainment.

He added that 168 hodin was not primarily an investigative program, as 80% of its content focused on social issues, with investigative reports comprising only 3% of the content from January 2023 to June 2024, and just 1% in the first half of 2024.