The UK system splits the broadcasters into three levels, all based on their audience share. The biggest category is Level 1 broadcasters, which includes the main free-to-air channels such BBC, ITV, Channels 4 and 5 and the main subscription channels from Sky.
Each year, Ofcom reviews the audience share and revenue of television stations in the UK, and determines an appropriate level of access as set out in the ‘Ofcom Code on Television Access Services’. Most stations which have been broadcasting for ten years, and are required to provide the highest level of access, must broadcast 80% of their programs with captions (called subtitles in the UK), 10% with audio description and 5% with signing. However, some stations have voluntarily increased their levels.
Audio description was first broadcast on British television in 1994, and by 2009 most of the main channels were required to provide it on 10% of their programs. However, research commissioned by Ofcom in that year showed that awareness of it among the general public was low. Following a public awareness campaign initiated by Ofcom and carried out by broadcasters, awareness rose to 37%.
The Television Access Services: Final report on 2012 also shows that audio description levels are high. While their mandatory quotas are 10%, a number of channels, including ITV1 (in England and Wales), Channel 4, Sky (for its non-sport channels) and the BBC have committed to audio describing 20% of their programs.
