Ofcom is the regulator of the communications industry.
In January 2023, they commissioned us to conduct research with people with different access needs - exploring their use of, attitudes towards, and preferences for: subtitles, audio description, and signing on broadcast TV and video-on-demand (VoD) services, including catch-up and subscription services.
These features are known as ‘access services’.
Broadcasters are required by law to provide access services for a specific portion of their programming, and the research was needed to inform a revision of Ofcom’s Access Services Code and associated guidelines.
For this project, we interviewed 55 members of our consumer panel, with a range of disabilities and conditions. These included people who had hearing loss, sight loss, both hearing and sight loss, cognitive conditions and British Sign Language (BSL) users.
Read the report
General findings
Our panel members wanted access services to be easier to find and switch on. They also wanted clearer information about which programmes had subtitles, audio description, and signing available.
Subtitles
Our panel members felt that the quality of subtitles had improved in recent years. But, many avoided watching live programmes (like the news, or events) because the subtitles had mistakes or did not match up with the sound correctly. There was demand for greater customisation – being able to change the size, colour, position or speed of subtitles.
Audio description
Panel members wanted more audio description to be available. They liked it when the accent or tone of the audio describer was similar to the programme, as long as it didn’t compromise the clarity of what was being said. Describing what a person looks like was seen as very important, and people wanted detailed audio descriptions.
Signing
Sign-interpreted: This is when someone translates the TV programme into British Sign Language on the corner of the TV screen.
Sign-presented: This is when a TV programme is in sign language.
Panel members preferred watching sign-presented programmes to sign-interpreted ones. This was because they did not need to focus on the interpreter on the screen. They also thought the signing quality was better. For sign-interpretation, panel members said that sometimes the signing was unclear or did not match what was happening on screen.
Changes to the Code and Guidance
The report produced by RiDC was published in April 2024 and details the findings which have supported the revision of Ofcom’s accessibility best practice guidelines.
Ofcom has now introduced several clarifications to the Access Services Code. Broadcasters must now make sure that:
- access services are of a good enough quality
- when something goes wrong with access services, they must make every effort to tell their viewers what is going on and keep them up to date
Ofcom has also expanded its best practice guidelines to include, for the first time, video-on-demand providers such as ITV X and Channel 4, and subscription services like Now TV and Amazon Prime Video.
The regulator is also offering additional advice to broadcasters on how best to serve viewers with cognitive and neurodevelopmental conditions, key outcomes for audiences in relation to access services, customisation options for viewers and other means of making programmes accessible, such as improving dialogue audibility for people with hearing loss.
Ofcom is also in the process of setting up a working group for user groups, broadcasters and on-demand providers to share best practice.
