Dual-Language TV Could Soon Be Available In the Czech Republic

Anyone who has ever tuned into a foreign show on Czech television only to discover an oddly accented Poirot or a crime-busting NYC cop with a Prague twang, will appreciate the news that these programs and others could soon be available in their original language.

Having recently begun switching from DVB-T to DVB-T2 format, Czech stations could, as early as 2018, simultaneously transmit two options—the original programming and the Czech-dubbed verison—for broadcast. 

Currently, bilingual broadcasting is only offered by Czech television on selected programs on satellite television. 

Called The Electronic Communications Acts, the new policy was proposed by TOP 09 MEP Marketa Pekarová Adamová, who says she is targeting improved Czech foreign-language proficiency. 

The topic, which will be debated later today by experts and representatives of Czech Television, is under consideration by the Czech government.

“I will suggest that Czech Television offers dual broadcasting next year. This option could now be used by up to 60 percent of Czech households,” Pekarová Adamová said in a news release.

She went on to say: “It is paradoxical that in 2003 Czech Television broadcast a large part of the programs in bilingual form and [yet] now at the time of smart TVs this service is less available. If the technology allows, it is time to change it.”

According to a Eurobarometer survey, only 11 percent of Czechs speak English; the Czech knowledge of English is among the worst of all EU countries, ranking alongside other countries with a strong tradition of dubbing.

“Significantly better are almost 53 percent of the Swedes, who [do not watch] dubbed films,” says Pekarová Adamová.

Opinions will be heard from a number of groups including radiocommunications specialists and lecturers. One of them, Ladislav Knihová from the University of Finance and Administration, said in a statement:

“Learning with the help of the video is very effective, because there is a deeper involvement memorizing content through multiple senses. Films play an important role in this process as we learn best what we like.”