Czech Radio

Czech Radio (Czech: Český rozhlas, ČRo) is the public radio broadcaster of the Czech Republic operating continuously since 1923. It is the oldest national radio broadcaster in continental Europe and the second-oldest in Europe after the BBC. Czech Radio was established in 1992 by the Czech Radio Act, which sets out the framework for its operation and finance. It acts as the successor to the previous state-owned Czechoslovak Radio which ceased to exist by 1992.

The service broadcasts throughout the Czech Republic nationally and locally. Its four national services are Radiožurnál, Dvojka, Vltava and Plus. Czech Radio operates twelve nationwide stations and another fourteen regional stations. All ČRo stations broadcast via internet stream, digital via DAB+ and DVB, and part analog via terrestrial transmitters. It is based in Prague in a building in Vinohradská třída.

Český rozhlas, then Československý 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. The premises of the station changed numerous times, firstly moving to the district of Hloubětín, before later using locations in the Poštovní nákupny building, the Orbis building and the Národní dům na Vinohradech building, all in Prague. Since the moves, Czech Radio has been located in Prague in the building Vinohradská 12 since 1933.

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. 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. In the same year, regional studios in the cities of Plzeň, České Budějovice, Hradec Králové and Ústí nad Labem were launched.

The station was taken over by Soviet forces, after short fighting with unarmed civilians, in August 1968, in the first day of the Soviet invasion, although broadcasting managed to continue from alternative locations.

In 1991, the Czech Radio Group changed its status and became an independent organisation, despite being publicly funded as of 2008. Czech Radio (ČRo) was established by Act of the Czech National Council (No. 484/1991 Coll.) on Czech Radio.

On 1 January 1992, Czech Radio was established as a public radio with property transferred from Czechoslovak Radio. The headquarters were set up at Vinohradská 12 in Prague, where the old Czechoslovak Radio was based at. Operation of regional stations in the Czech Republic was also transferred. On 1 January 1993, Czech Radio became a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). In 1999, Czech Radio launched an experimental digital radio broadcast in Prague.