Conditions for entering pieces
Drama. Documentary. News reports. Podcasts. These are the four competition sections that will be offered by the Prix Bohemia Radio international radio festival in 2026 — the event’s 42nd edition.
The festival includes three national categories and one international category, all of which will be judged according to the same basic criteria:
- Originality, meaningfulness and relevance of the topic and theme.
- The quality of execution
- Sound quality
- Overall impression
However, each category also has specific evaluation criteria, which are detailed below along with the entry requirements.
The Prix Bohemia Radio prizes will be awarded to the top three places in each of the four categories. Each category will be judged by its own expert jury, which will decide by secret ballot after hearing the competition programmes.
Each section also has a student jury, which awards the Student Prize to one of the finalists. Adding an extra perspective highlights the voice of the next generation of media professionals.
The deadline for entries for all four categories is 30 April 2026.
NOTICE ON SUBMISSIONS OF WORKS
Works cannot be submitted to several categories at once.
The festival committee reserves the right to shift submissions into the appropriate categories and reject submissions that do not meet the submission rules.
International category News Report
The international News Report category is intended for radio reports with a maximum length of 10 minutes, aired between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026 by a Czech or foreign public service broadcaster/distributor in the territory of the invited foreign broadcasters.
This is a news format - i.e., authentic, eyewitness reporting by a journalist on an important current event presented as a description, narration or interview with other participants, along with a documentary sound recording of the environment. Entries must be submitted in the broadcast version and format, i.e., without any editing.
Specific criteria for the jury's evaluation:
- Importance/impact of the entry
- Source completeness, comprehensiveness and contextualisation
- Balance
- Linguistic and expressive quality
- Sound quality
Contact person: Marietta Čtveráková
National category Documentary
The National Documentary category is open for audio documentaries with a maximum running time of 60 minutes produced in the Czech Republic and published by a Czech broadcaster/distributor between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026.
Specific criteria for the jury's evaluation:
- Authorship ethics
- Dramaturgy and direction
Contact person: Petra Dankovičová
National category Drama
The National Drama category is for an original drama, audio-adaptation or dramatisation created in the Czech Republic in the Czech language and published by a Czech broadcaster/distributor between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026. The submission of an annotation of up to 3,000 characters, script and audio is required. If the work proceeds to the final, an English translation of the script is required.
Specific criteria for jury evaluation:
- The director's intention and its realisation
- Acting performances
- Functionality of the sound design and musical component of the work
Contact person: Tereza Krčmářová
National category Podcast
The national Podcast category is open to regular podcasts and podcast channels with a minimum of ten published episodes and closed podcast series or serials with a minimum of three published episodes that were published via the internet (web, apps, streaming platforms) between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026.
Podcasts must be in Czech and available in audio for a Czech audience. Podcasts in video cannot be submitted. There is no limit on the length of podcasts for submission.
A regular podcast or series can only be entered as a whole, so you cannot enter individual episodes of podcasts or series, individual radio plays, documentaries or news reports. If a podcast is not freely available online at the time of entry, it must be made available for a specified period of time for judging (e.g., in the form of a voucher).
Other related material (e.g. listener reactions and comments, listenership data or accompanying multimedia material) may be submitted together with a link to the published podcast, up to a maximum of 5 slides or 5 standard pages (at 1,800 characters per page) of presentation. Podcasts can be submitted by their authors, dramaturges, production team or production company.
Specific criteria for jury evaluation:
- Complexity and concept of the podcast channel or series
- Functionality, reach and impact in the online environment
- Breaking new ground in the Czech audio scene
- Campaign design, communication with listeners and visibility of the project in the online environment
Contact person: Kateřina Tučková
