Ofcom has today published a report on the
accessibility of broadcast and on-demand services. It sets
out the proportion of these services with subtitles, audio
description or signing for people with visual and/or hearing
impairments.
The report, which covers the first six months of 2018, includes
data on both broadcast and on-demand accessibility. The
information is published in an interactive format to make it
easier for people to compare accessibility across different
television services.
Today’s report shows that most channels broadcasting in the UK
continued to comfortably meet their accessibility requirements.
Certain channels which underperformed in 2017 are now on course
to exceed their requirements by the end of this year.
Among on-demand services, which include public service
broadcasters’ catch-up services, more than just over half (52%)
of providers now offer subtitled content. The proportion of
on-demand providers offering audio-described programmes increased
slightly to 13, although the amount of signed content remained
static at 8%. Some 45% of on-demand providers don’t offer any
access services.
There is currently no legal requirement on providers of on-demand
programming services to make their content accessible to people
with hearing and/or visual impairments. This differs from
broadcast television services, where broadcasters must achieve
specific accessibility targets.
The Digital Economy Act 2017, however, paved the way for
on-demand accessibility requirements. Following a
consultation, Ofcom will soon publish recommendations to
inform the government’s drafting of new regulations in this area.
