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.
Conducted by the Australian Institute, the survey showed that out of the 1294 respondents, 94% said they were aware of captioning, 30% said they sometimes used it and 3% said they always used the service when watching television.
The Association plays a vital role in ensuring Australian DVD and Blu-ray products are released with captions and audio description. AHEDA has worked with consumer groups, Media Access Australia and the Australian Human Rights Commission since 2006 to improve access levels, and continues an educational campaign to members to encourage the importation of titles with access features and the local production of titles with access features.
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.
Starting with two blockbuster movies in True Grit and The King's Speech, Reading Cinemas Charlestown, in the suburbs of Newcastle NSW, becomes the first Reading location to show closed capti
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.
The Single Equality Scheme is Ofcom’s action plan towards achieving its seven goals for diversity and equality. Some goals are internal, such as aiming to increase the number of people from diverse groups working at Ofcom, including in executive and advisory capacities.
While the previous series shown on Nine’s main channel was captioned, the first episode of the new series was not. This is in line with the Federal Government’s regulations concerning multichannels like GO!, which are only obliged to caption repeat programs that were originally screened on a network’s main channel with captions.
However, following the complaints, Nine has agreed to caption the new series from episode 2 onwards.
