The Czech media landscape in focus - The Seznam.cz phenomenon and the influence of oligarchs
Beyond the robust public broadcasting system, the information landscape in the Czech Republic is shaped by both powerful private media outlets and a unique digital phenomenon. The concentration of media ownership in the hands of a few wealthy individuals, such as former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, raises questions about independence, yet a surprising local search engine is successfully holding its own against global giants.
Oligarchic influence, but no monopoly on opinion
Former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is a dominant player through his media company MAFRA. MAFRA owns all types of media – print, online, TV, and radio. His empire includes the most widely read daily newspaper, "Mladá fronta Dnes," weekly newspapers, numerous online portals, and the country's most successful private radio station, Radio Impuls. MAFRA's print media regularly reach 3.4 million readers, while its web projects are visited by 7.4 million users weekly.
As a journalist, Jana Bujnačková expresses the general view that media owned by a single individual can never be completely independent. Nevertheless, the emergence of a monopoly of opinion, like the one Viktor Orbán was able to establish in Hungary, is considered unlikely in the Czech Republic. The multi-billion-euro domino effect triggered by Babiš's media acquisition in 2013 resulted in media ownership in the Czech Republic being distributed among several of the country's wealthiest individuals, making complete control by a single political force difficult and enabling the existence of multiple independent media outlets.
Seznam.cz as a national alternative to Google
A fascinating and unique feature of the Czech digital landscape is the internet portal Seznam.cz. It is not only the country's most successful news portal with "Seznam Zprávy" (Seznam News), but also a Prague-based search engine that successfully holds its own against American providers like Google. This makes the Czech Republic one of the few countries in the Western world to have a local search engine optimized for its own language, map services, and social networks as relevant market players.
Seznam.cz's success is attributed to its long tradition – founded two years before Google – user trust, and the consistent development of its own brand. The company has evolved from a pure search engine into a media company operating over 10,000 different services and high-quality brands, including, for the past four years, a commercial television channel broadcasting documentaries, series, films, and daily news.
International connections and regional differences
Despite the proximity to Austria, which Czechs frequently visit for its nature, history, and capital city of Vienna, Austrian media play a negligible role in the Czech Republic. Only the ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation) is widely known. However, Radio Prague International offers programming in German, English, Spanish, French, and Russian, in addition to its Czech-language offerings.
Deutsche Welle, which broadcasts content in over 40 languages worldwide, including languages bordering the Western Balkans (Albanian, Bosnian Serb, Croatian, Macedonian, Greek, Bulgarian, Romanian and Hungarian), also contributes to media diversity in the region, even if selected contributions are only occasionally produced in German or English.
Dynamics despite concerns
The influence of German publishers in Poland and the Czech Republic has been viewed critically in the past, as Czech oligarchs have bought up media outlets, compromising journalistic independence. Overall, however, the Czech Republic presents itself as a country with a dynamic media landscape, boasting both traditional strengths in public service broadcasting and innovative local digital players that are successfully holding their own against global competition.