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A lively commercial broadcasting sector provides stiff competition for public service outlets.

Public Ceska Televize (CT) operates several networks, including 24-hour news channel CT24. Public radio, Cesky Rozhlas (CRo), runs national and local stations.

The leading private TV channels Nova and Prima broadcast nationally. There are scores of privately-owned radio stations, including Impuls and Frekvence 1.

The media operate relatively freely and without undue government curbs, says Freedom House.

But in recent years, the country has experienced several corruption scandals and political disputes that have hampered normal legislative activity. Illiberal rhetoric is increasingly visible, says the civil liberties group.

Freedom House also says there are concerns about the concentration of media ownership among wealthy business figures and the "potential impact of this on journalists' ability to investigate commercial interests".

There were 9.3 million internet users by July 2022, comprising some 87% of the population (Worldinternetstats.com). Facebook is the leading social media platform.