Final Word from Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Debate-show host Václav Moravec told Respekt magazine shortly before he decided to leave Czech TV that billionaire Pavel Tykač definitely exercises influence at the public station, and Moravec cited reports from Seznam Zprávy, Mediář and Deník N to substantiate the claim. There has indeed been a gradual shift in recent years from "Bakala TV" (as Jaroslav Plesl of MFD called it in 2017) to "Tykač TV," roughly in line with the shift in the political environment. Yet if Tykač's influence were so great, would ČT have temporarily replaced Moravec with Martin Řezníček, another controversial moderator with objectivity issues, or given such prominent coverage to the Million Moments for Democracy anti-government protest on Sat.? If Tykač is exercising influence at ČT, his goal seems to be not to "fix it," but rather to fan the flames so that voters of ANO, SPD and Moto continue to insist on major reform of the financing model. Which means that at least for now, Tykač TV must remain to a significant degree Bakala TV. [ Czech Republic Zdeněk MF Dnes Television Radio media Motorists ]