The ABC’s iView remains the only online ‘catch-up’ video service in Australia which carries a significant amount of captioning, with all prime-time programs from ABC1 and ABC2 captioned on iView.
This service, which is expected to launch in the first half of 2011, is a combination of the existing Freeview service with additional catch-up TV accessed via a broadband Internet connection.
The popular programs Emmerdale and Coronation Street are currently captioned on the service, and ITV has said that it intends to extend captioning to 70% of programs on it. Captions (which are called subtitles in the UK) are activated by pushing the ‘S’ button at the bottom of the screen. Programs on the ITV Player are only available to UK viewers.
The BBC launched captions on its catch-up service, the iPlayer, in 2008, while in Australia the ABC’s iView has had all prime-time programs captioned since March 2010.
Sarah, who has been at Media Access Australia since the beginning of 2010, is one of three non-profit staff awarded Connecting Up Australia's scholarship, with entries submitted from all over Australia. Worth up to $5,000 each, the scholarships cover return airfares, a $500 contribution to meals and accommodation, and registration to the March conference, organised by the US Nonprofit Technology Network.
