The Bohemianisation of the media. The acquisition of the Czech media sector by local billionaires
The Bohemianisation of the media. The acquisition of the Czech media sector by local billionaires

Author(s): Krzysztof Dębiec
Subject(s): Media studies, Politics and communication, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Present Times (2010 - today)
Published by: OSW Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia
Keywords: Media; Czech media sector; media ownership; foreign media markets;
Summary/Abstract: The deal finalising the sale of Nova TV to PPF on 13 October 2020 completed the process of key Czech media organisations being taken over by local capital. At the beginning of 2008, foreign entities controlled the vast majority of the Czech media market. However, a wide section of the popular press titles and radio and TV stations was taken over by domestic billionaires in the following years. They took advantage of the problems the owners of traditional media outlets had to face: both temporary (the decline in advertising revenue during the economic crisis) and structural (the increasing popularity of the Internet at the expense of the printed press). The expansion of domestic business empires in this sector was quickly branded as anoligarchisation of the media in the Czech Republic. Local billionaires treated their new assets as tools of political influence. They do not rely on the mass media as a source of profits. Instead, they use it as a means for protecting their businesses from attacks by competitors or state interference. The mass media has even become a tool for gaining or consolidating a political and business position. There are many indications that, for similar reasons, the richest Czechs are also buying media outlets abroad in countries where they do business.

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