Most domestic channels are continuing to comfortably meet their requirements. In addition, those channels that underprovided against their requirements in 2017 (Cartoon Network, Boomerang and CBS Reality) are on course to have exceeded their requirements by the end of 2018.

Domestic channels with an audience share of between 0.05% and 1% have the option either to broadcast 45 minutes of sign-presented programming each month or to participate in Ofcom-approved alternative arrangements which contribute to the availability of sign-presented programming. Where "Alt" is shown in the report, this indicates that the broadcaster contributed to the British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust (BSLBT), which commissions sign-presented programming and is broadcast on Film4.

2018 saw the introduction of new rules for non-domestic broadcasters which require them to meet their signing obligation by either broadcasting sign-presented or sign-interpreted programming or by providing 10% additional subtitling. Although the vast majority of channels have met these obligations, we expect any shortfalls to have been made up by the end of the year.

Ofcom regulates a wide range of ODPS, including public service broadcasters’ catch-up services, subscription film services and local TV archives.

Since the last report (which was for the full calendar year 2017) the percentage of providers making any content accessible on their ODPS rose from 50.6% to 54.7%. This was due to a rise in the provision of subtitles, from 49% to 52% of providers, and in audio description provision from 11% to 13.3% of providers (8.6% of services). The proportion of providers making signed content available remained static at 8% (4.7% of services). Figure 1 below gives more detail on audio described content, for ease of use with screen readers. Please see the interactive report for further information on the provision of all access services.

Figure 1: Proportion of programme hours available with audio description Jan-June 2018
*Turner’s figures show AD provided to platforms, but not necessary played out to consumers.

ODPS accessibility varies greatly depending on the platform used to view the service. In the first half of 2018 the provision of subtitles across most types of platform appears to have stalled (or decreased slightly). 26% of ODPS available in the UK carried subtitles on their own-brand websites (down slightly from 27% in the second half of 2017).  20% of  services carried subtitles  on mobile apps over the same period (down from 19%), while only 7% (down from 8.8%) of ODPS provided subtitles when viewed using games consoles or smart TVs.

One area where we have seen an improvement is the accessibility of on-demand services viewed via set top boxes (e.g. FreeView, Sky Q) and video streaming sticks (e.g. Amazon Fire, Google Chromecast) which enable more traditional “living room” access to on-demand services via a television set. In 2018, 26% of services carried subtitles on these platforms, up from 20% in 2017. While this is a small increase, there remain only a limited number of ODPS which offer subtitles when viewed on some commonly used platforms. In the first half of 2018 only three on-demand services were available with subtitles on FreeView Play and Virgin (the same as at the end of 2017), and seven on Sky (up from six).