The Council of Czech Television gave consent to the construction of the Brno studio

Prague - The Council of Czech Television today gave additional approval for the construction of the Brno CT studio. The public service television needed the approval of its supervisory body due to new legislation that came into effect last year regarding public procurement. According to an optimistic estimate from the television, construction itself could begin this fall.
    Today, some councilors held an animated debate about the approval of the additional form. Some considered it a mere formality that does not change the intention to build a new Brno studio. Opponents, however, argued that it is a complex legal issue that shifts responsibility for management decisions onto the councilors. According to them, there is a conflict between the laws on Czech Television and public procurement. The vice-chairwoman of the council, Dana Eklová, pointed out today that the entire selection process would subsequently be reviewed by the supervisory committee of the Czech Television Council.
    According to General Director Petr Dvořák, postponing the construction would have impacts on the financial management of Czech Television. Some partial investment actions are said to be already planned for this year. However, the actual deadlines will only emerge from the tender, for which Czech Television can now prepare the tender documentation.
    Czech Television announced a tender for the construction of a new studio in Brno last year. The contract, worth 340 million crowns, includes the implementation of a complex of studios and other spaces for the production and broadcasting of programs. The new studio will be located in the former Zetor area in Líšeň, thus ending a long-standing temporary arrangement. This arrangement was in effect since the beginning of broadcasting from the studios in the Typos Palace on Běhounská and Jezuitská streets. The building originally housed apartments, and in the basement, where the largest studio is located, there was a dance hall. "It was examined whether it would be possible to reconstruct Typos, but it would be more expensive than a new building, and we would have to operate somewhere else for two years. The new studio will be built according to television logistics," said Karel Burian, director of the Brno studio, to ČTK last September.
    According to CT's estimates, the original construction cost was around 600 million crowns. The following autumn, CT then reduced it to 350 to 400 million crowns by postponing the construction of the studio, which is to be part of the studio, to a later date.