At the beginning of 2024, Michal Kovačič, Adel Ghannam and Viktor Vincze founded unions. Kovačič received a stop sign after making a public statement in the Na telo show. “The fight for the form of Markíza television coverage has been going on for months. We face pressure not only from politicians, but also from our own leadership. Attempts to censor debates began right at the beginning of the year, and Televízne noviny also faced daily pressure shortly thereafter.,” he said live last May 26.
After the departure of Kovačič and Ghannam, Vincze remained at the head of the trade union. But he also started to have problems. First, he was given a choice whether to continue as a news presenter or to devote himself to the dance show Let’s Dance, which broadcasts only for about three months. Vincze was clear right away and said he wanted to stay in the news.
But further changes came in April 2025. Markíza Television announced that it will start the online news project of 2025 – TN LIVE. Among others, Viktor Vincze was supposed to be transferred to this project, but he stated on the social network that he was not informed about it in advance. However, the television management defended itself in the published opinion and said that the project had been discussed for a long time.
According to his own words, the moderator received a new offer which it included a fourfold increase in services, doubling the number of working days, broadcasting two Internet shows a day and, moreover, without any change in ratings, which he refused and definitively slammed the door behind the television.
The general director of Markíza Peter Gažík returned to the whole situation in an interview with the newspaper, in which the legal disputes of Viktor Vincze and Michal Kovačič with the television came up. “At this moment, we have one labor-administrative dispute, namely with Michal Kovačič. Period,” Gažík answered briefly.
Vincze himself shared this part on the social network. “You are sending me an interview with the CEO of Markíza for SME. I will not comment on the content, everything important has already been said over the past year, and for those who were not satisfied, no more of my words will move them anywhere. But this matter is no longer valid, we filed the lawsuit last week. Period“, he revealed. You can find a PHOTO of the post in the gallery.
The words about the court have been spoken a long time ago. “Michal Kovačič was fired for naming reality in the public interest. The public has the right to know that systematic pressure is being exerted on the most watched news in the country. According to the television management, Michal Kovačič misused the broadcast to present his personal opinion. How is it then possible that the de facto entire editorial board immediately stood up for this “opinion”?” the unions responded in June 2024.
They were even ready to go on strike, but that didn’t happen. “However, the fact is that the law does not allow such a strike, and we respect the law. We did our best to settle the situation. However, instead of the offered handshake, the television management decided on an illegal dismissal,” they said.
Kovačič spoke about the lawsuit in the show. “To be honest, I didn’t really want to do it. But on the other hand, the very colleagues from the unions with whom we talked about it said that, regardless of the fact that it is no dream to fight with someone for years in court, we agreed and agreed that it is necessary. The unions explicitly stated that the dismissal was illegal and that it should be done. I agreed with my colleagues and agreed that a lawsuit should be filed,” he said in late September 2024.
In an interview with in May 2025, Vincze confirmed that he will take the television to court. “The essence of the dispute will be the determination of the invalidity of the notice. According to the law, the president of the trade union cannot be dismissed without the consent of the trade union. And we will prove in court that the entire organizational change was purposeful. This case also shows that the legal protection of trade union officials is not sufficient in Slovak conditions. It is enough for big companies to allocate money for a lawsuit, forcefully fire a trade unionist, and in four or five years they may lose in court, but no one will remember that.” concluded Vincze.
