Czech Radio
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Type | Radio |
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Country | Czech Republic |
Headquarters | Vinohradská 12, Prague, Czech Republic |
Owner | Public broadcasting |
Launch date | 1923 |
Official website | www.rozhlas.cz |
Český rozhlas (ČRo) is the public radio broadcaster of the Czech Republic, which has operated since 1923. The service broadcasts throughout the Czech Republic nationally and locally. Its four national services are Radiožurnál, Dvojka, Vltava and Plus. 13 regional stations are also provided. Czech Radio celebrated 90 years of existence in 2013.
History
Czechoslovak era

ÄŒeský rozhlas, then ÄŒeskoslovenský rozhlas was established on 18 May 1923, making its first broadcast from a scout tent in the Kbely district of Prague, under the name Radiojournal.[1] The premises of the station changed numerous times, firstly moving to the district of HloubÄ›tÃn, before later using locations in the PoÅ¡tovnà nákupny building, the Orbis building and the Národnà dům na Vinohradech building, all in Prague.[1]
The first regular announcer of the station, who prepared and presented the news from the daily papers, was Adolf Dobrovolný. He took up the position on 17 January 1924, becoming the station's first professional radio announcer and his position was made permanent on 1 January 1925.[1] He held the position until his death in 1934.
A message broadcast on Czech Radio on 5 May 1945 brought about the start of the Prague uprising.[2] In the same year, regional studios in the cities of Plzeň, České Budějovice, Hradec Králové and Ústà nad Labem were launched.[3]
The station was taken over by Soviet forces in September 1968 following the Prague Spring, although broadcasting managed to continue from alternative locations.[2]
Czech era
In 1991, the Czech radio group changed its status and became an independent organisation, although as of 2008 was still publicly funded.[3][4] A regional studio was established in Olomouc in 1994.[3]
An envisaged new premises for Czech Radio, a 30-storey building in the district of Pankrác which took 22 years to build at a cost of 1.35 billion Czech koruna, was sold after the construction phrase in 1996 as it was deemed too big for the station's requirements.[5]
In 2002 the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty station stopped broadcasting in the Czech Republic, with the broadcast rebranded as Czech Radio 6 under the Czech Radio group.[6]

Czech Radio launched a new logo in 2013, featuring the letter R with stripes, at a cost of 2.2 million Czech koruna.[7]
The organisation marked 90 years of existence in 2013, celebrating the occasion with a 48-hour broadcast including 90 interviews interspersed with news reports every half-hour.[2] The event, which took place on Wenceslas Square, set a new national record for the longest uninterrupted radio broadcast.[2]
Radio stations
2013 saw three Czech Radio stations ÄŒesko, Leonardo and ÄŒro 6 taken off the airwaves. At the same time, three new stations were launched, namely ÄŒRo Junior for young listeners, ÄŒRo Plus, a spoken word station and ÄŒRo Jazz.[8]
Czech Radio offers the following radio channels:
- Radiožurnál – news, information and pop music (Soft AC)
- Dvojka – talk and family programmes (formerly ČRo 2 Praha)
- Vltava – culture, art and classical music
- Plus – spoken word
- 13 regional channels
- ÄŒRo Brno
- ČRo České Budějovice
- ČRo Hradec Králové
- ÄŒRo Karlovy Vary
- ÄŒRo Liberec
- ÄŒRo Olomouc
- ÄŒRo Ostrava
- ÄŒRo Pardubice
- ČRo Plzeň
- ÄŒRo Regina
- ÄŒRo Region, StÅ™edoÄeský kraj
- ÄŒRo Region, VysoÄina
- ÄŒRo Sever
- ČRo Radio Wave – youth radio (via cable, digital, and internet only)
- ÄŒRo D-Dur: classical music
- ÄŒRo Jazz: mainly jazz station (previously ÄŒRo Euro Jazz)
- ČRo Rádio Junior: children's radio
- ÄŒRo Sport: sports radio
- Radio Prague: external broadcasts, six languages available.
Former stations
- ÄŒRo 6 ended in 2013
- ÄŒRo Leonardo ended in 2013
- ČRo Rádio Česko ended in 2013
See also
- Česká televize, the Czech publicly funded television broadcaster
- Battle for Czech Radio in World War Two
References
- 1 2 3 Josef MarÅ¡Ãk. "PrůkopnÃci rozhlasového vysÃlánà 1923–1925" (PDF) (in Czech). ÄŒeský rozhlas. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 "Czech Radio celebrates 90 years of air time". Prague Post. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- 1 2 3 "History of Czech Radio". Czech Radio. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ↑ "Controversial radio head removed from post". Prague Post. 6 February 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ↑ "It's tall. It's been under construction for 22 years. It's been sold.". Prague Post. 24 January 1996. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ↑ "Briefly noted". Prague Post. 2 October 2002. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ↑ "Český rozhlas má nová loga, za propagaci zaplatà 160 milionů" (in Czech). Mladá fronta DNES. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ↑ "Do vysÃlánà DAB rozhlasu pÅ™ibudou tÅ™i stanice, tÅ™i vÅ¡ak také zmizÃ" (in Czech). Mladá fronta DNES. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
External links
- Official website
- Official website in English
- LyngSat Logo – Czechia — Logos of Český Rozhlas stations
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Coordinates: 50°04′43″N 14°26′04″E / 50.07861°N 14.43444°E
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