Klempíř to remove Dvořák from Czech State Audiovisual Fund board

Minister Klempíř intends to remove former Czech Television chief Petr Dvořák from the leadership of the State Audiovisual Fund. The reason is a differing view of how the fund is managed and insufficient cooperation in finding savings, the minister said.

On Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) will meet representatives of the audiovisual sector, and representatives of the fund are also expected to attend. According to fund spokeswoman Pavlína Vítková, they will be members of the council and some members of the board. She could not confirm whether board chairman Dvořák should take part.

Dispute over the 2027 budget

Last week the government did not approve the draft budget of the fund for 2027. At a meeting with the fund's leadership, Klempíř demanded that the amount be cut by roughly 400 million crowns, which would reduce the support budget by almost half.

The fund disagrees. In a board resolution, it says any cut would bring no savings to the state budget, because the minimum state subsidy for audiovisual support in 2027 is set by law at 228 million crowns. Fund representatives added that they are also responsible for the development of the gaming industry and animation, and that any changes to support must be properly justified.

If the fund's budget cannot be approved by the end of the year, the fund will operate under a provisional budget and be able to spend no more than one-twelfth of the funds in the approved 2026 budget each month.

According to Klempíř, as quoted by the Czech News Agency, the fund assured the ministry that even under such a regime it can finance grant calls under the approved short-term concept for 2027. A provisional budget in itself therefore means neither the cancellation of planned calls nor cuts to funding for audiovisual production.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz