Who are the people who come on between programs on Czech Television?

They are known as programoví hlasatelé (program announcers). They have been around since the dawn of broadcasting in the fifties and deliver brief introductions to the following program or to the entire evening’s programming. Their introductions typically consist of the sort of short blurbs that one reads in TV Guide and were presumably originally a substitute for such non-existent guides (they may still serve that purpose among some older citizens). Under communism, program announcers like Saskia Burešová, Alexandr Hemala, and especially Miloš Frýba achieved a sort of cult status – they were known for their flawless pronunciation as well as their elegant wardrobes. None of the new private TV stations uses hlasatelé and Czech Television has recently decided to eliminate them as unnecessary, though a few nostalgics believe that without them the station will lose a degree of cultivation.