Czech Radio Plus to Broadcast 24/7 on FM
Czech Radio Plus, which is a station focused especially on analytical journalism, is beginning to broadcast on FM on November 2. Its listeners can expect an extended range of programmes. Plus will be broadcasting 24/7 and almost 60% of the inhabitants of the Czech Republic will be able to tune in to it.
“The spoken word station Plus entering the FM band is one of the strategic goals that Czech Radio has achieved under my management. Plus will now be able to address a larger number of people with its programmes,” says Czech Radio Director General, Peter Duhan.
Now, Czech Radio Plus only uses the FM band in Prague and its surroundings in the morning and afternoon. Besides that, the station broadcasts digitally and on medium wave. Plus is going to use frequencies that Czech Radio obtained especially by optimising its own network.
“The content of Czech Radio Plus will be based on four pillars: politics, society, business and science. The extension of Plus’s broadcast means that Czech Radio adds a station to its portfolio in the manner of the advanced media houses of western Europe,” says Deputy Director General for Programme and Broadcasting, René Zavoral.
Plus is going to use Radiožurnál’s Top News at 12 noon and 6 p.m. while Sixty Minutes will be taken over by Plus. Its broadcast will also contain new programmes including, for example, “How It Really Happened“, whose objective is to correct inaccuracies and half-truths about historical events or figures. On Wednesdays the discussion programme, “Critics Club“ (Kritický klub), will be replaced by “The Roots“ (Kořeny). The station is also planning to include satire in its content.
“Our goal is to achieve at least double the current number of Czech Radio Plus listeners in the foreseeable future. I estimate that within a few months there might be more than sixty thousand listeners a day and more than a total of a hundred thousand listeners a week. We also expect a great increase in the number of visits and listeners on our website, in mobile phone applications and podcasts, where Plus will be significantly supported by Czech Radio´s New Media,” says Plus’s Editor in Chief, Alexandr Pícha.
The nationwide Plus station began to broadcast on 1 March, 2013. It offers analytical journalism, comments, discussions and interactive programmes. It analyses current affairs in wider social, historical, economic and cultural contexts. Czech Radio Plus is also an information channel for topics from the areas of science, technology and history.
Jiří Hošna
Czech Radio’s Spokesperson
Tel: 725 793 397
E-mail: jiri.hosna@rozhlas.cz