TV access

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Read more about ACMA releases annual caption compliance reports for 2014-15

U.S. broadcasts live TV audio description for the first time

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U.S. cable provider Comcast, in partnership with NBC and Descriptive Video Works (DVW), will mark the International Day of People with Disability (3 December) by televising the Broadway musical The Wiz Live! with audio description, providing the first accessible live entertainment TV program in the U.S. for people who are blind or vision impaired.

Promotional poster for The Wiz Live! Image credit: NBC

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Blind or vision impaired

Solutions

Audio description

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Read more about U.S. broadcasts live TV audio description for the first time

Feedback on captioning regulation wanted

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The lead-up to the end of the year has seen a little burst of consultation around captioning issues. The Federal Department of Communications and the Arts has released a policy consultation paper on the Captioning Regulatory Framework.

Businessman holding an open pair of scissors up to a line of red tape

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Australian policy and legislation

Research & policy

Closed captions

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Read more about Feedback on captioning regulation wanted

Ofcom releases fourth caption quality report

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The UK communications regulator Ofcom has released its fourth and final report into the quality of live captioning on television.

Ofcom: Measuring live subtitling quality. Results from the fourth sampling exercise

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Ofcom, Office of Communications

News

Television

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Read more about Ofcom releases fourth caption quality report

US city makes captions compulsory on public TVs

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All television sets in public places in Portland, Oregon, will need to have closed captions switched on during business hours, after the Portland City Council passed a new ordinance last week.

Neon sign reading "Portland, Oregon, Old Town" lit up at dusk

The rule will apply to bars, restaurants, gyms and other public spaces. It was welcomed by advocates for the deaf, who argued that deaf patrons could miss important news items, particularly in emergencies.

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Solutions

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ACMA asks for feedback on caption quality

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The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released a discussion paper entitled ‘Review of the Television Captioning Standard’, and is requesting comments on it from interested parties.

Australian Government | ACMA: Australian Communications and Media Authority logos printed on a glass panel. Image credit: acma.gov.au

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Australian policy and legislation

Video

Solutions

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Read more about ACMA asks for feedback on caption quality

New Zealand expands TV access

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New Zealand Broadcast Minister Amy Adams has announced that the government-supported captioning service will extend to Prime Television from February 2016.

New Zealand flag printed onto a TV remote control

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US communications commissioner calls for increased accessibility for the blind

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In a blog post marking his second anniversary as chairman of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), Tom Wheeler has emphasised the work that still needs to be done to make communications technology accessible for people who are blind and vision impaired.

FCC charman Tom Wheeler. Image credit: ALA Washington Office

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Video

Review of access to electronic media

News

Audio navigation

Policy

TV terms

TV access

Disability

Blind or vision impaired

Audio description

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Read more about US communications commissioner calls for increased accessibility for the blind

British conference celebrates audio description

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The RNIB Audio Description Conference: Celebrating Progress and Looking Ahead, which was held in London on 23 September, brought together a host of audio describers, broadcasters, film distributors, academics and other professionals who were keen to discuss ways of improving and expanding this essential service for people who are blind or vision impaired.

RNIB: supporting blind and partially sighted people

The conference included sessions on the last decade of audio description on television and in cinemas in the UK, and the challenges facing the service over the next ten years. It was coordinated by RNIB (the Royal National Institute of Blind People), and sponsored by BTI Studios, Deluxe and ITV.

Taxonomy:

Research & policy