The Prague headquarters of Czech Television will become the venue for the XXI. annual Digimedia expert conference on June 3, 2026. The event, organized by the Association of Czech Advertising Agencies and Marketing Communication (AČRA MK), will focus on the fundamental transformation of the media market, digitalization, and technological challenges associated with artificial intelligence.
One of the main topics of the upcoming year will be the reform of public service media funding. The discussion will focus on scenarios after the eventual abolition of license fees and the possible transition to state budget funding. Guests, who are expected to include representatives of the management of Czech Television and Czech Radio and politicians across the spectrum, will address how to ensure the independence of public service media in such a model. The Scandinavian model of the Finnish channel Yleisradio (YLE) will serve as an inspiration.
CONFERENCE PROGRAM - HERE.
A significant part of the program will be dedicated to television broadcasting and streaming services. Experts will debate the symbiosis of terrestrial broadcasting with IPTV and the growing pressure to invest in original content in the era of video on demand (VOD). The introduction of 5G Broadcast technology in the Czech Republic and the impact of out-of-home audience measurement on the advertising market will also be discussed.
“We are looking for answers to the question of whether, in today's memorandum on public service, a more precise definition of public service is needed and how the change in funding will affect the support of independent creators or sports,” state the authors of the proposed program.
In the block dedicated to artificial intelligence, the conference will focus on AI as a disruptor of media houses. Experts will analyze the ethical aspects of generating synthetic audio and video as well as current legal disputes over copyright to data used by AI. The program will also cover radio broadcasting, where, after two years of sharp operation of final DAB+ networks, a discussion on the consolidation of operators and the digital future of commercial stations is expected.
The conference is held under the auspices of the Minister of Culture Oto Klempíř and the Chairman of the Senate Media Committee David Smoljak. Proposed speakers include leading figures of the Czech media scene, including representatives of commercial television stations Nova and Prima, České Radiokomunikace, and the academic sphere.