Television and on-demand programme services: Access services report – January to December 2019
This report sets out the extent to which broadcast television channels and on-demand programme services (“ODPS”) carried subtitles, audio description and/or signing (collectively, “access services”) in 2019.
The report allows consumers to compare the extent to which traditional broadcast television and catch-up or on-demand services are accessible to people with sight and/or hearing impairments.
The statutory rules for broadcast services are different to those for on-demand services. Under the Communications Act 2003, broadcast television channels are required to make a certain proportion of their programmes accessible; the Code on Television Access Services sets out these obligations.
For on-demand (including catch-up) services, there has been no legal requirement to provide access services. However, the Digital Economy Act 2017 paves the way for Government to draft regulations to improve the accessibility of ODPS. Ofcom has made one set of recommendations to inform the regulations and is currently preparing a second consultation to provide further information to Government.
All channels met or exceeded their requirements with many channels far exceeding them, particularly for audio description.
Domestic channels with an audience share of between 0.05% and 1% have the option either to broadcast 50 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 the channels Film4 and Together.
Non-domestic broadcasters are required to meet their signing obligation by either broadcasting sign-presented or sign-interpreted programming or by providing 10% additional subtitling.
Ofcom regulates a wide range of ODPS, including public service broadcasters’ catch-up services, subscription film services and local TV archives. We require ODPS providers to submit twice-yearly data on the extent to which they make their services accessible to people with sight and/or hearing impairments. However the number of providers responding can vary, which can make it difficult to compare data with previous years. We are particularly aware this year that the current coronavirus crisis may have affected some providers’ ability to submit or clarify data.
Nonetheless, the proportion of providers offering access services was broadly in line with last year. 58.1% of ODPS providers offered subtitles on at least one of their services, while only 17.4% of providers offered audio description and 12.8% offered signing.
Looking at those ODPS that did carry access services across 2019, on the platforms where those access services were supported, 51.2% of programming hours were subtitled, 9.7% were audio described and 1.5% were signed.
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: Services carrying audio description during 2019
| Service | Platform | Percentage of content available with audio description in 2019 |
|---|---|---|
All 4 | Apple TV | 21.1% |
| All 4 | Android app | 26.4% |
| All 4 | iOS app | 21.1% |
| All 4 | Website | 26.4% |
| Arsenal Player | Website | 25% |
| Arsenal Player | Android/iOS apps | 25% |
| BFI Player | Samsung Smart TV | 1.2% |
| BFI Player | Website | 1.2% |
| BT TV | BT TV | 1.1% |
| BT TV | YouView | 1.1% |
| CBS Reality Drama Action Horror Channel | Virgin | 4.5% |
| ITV | Android app | 20.6% |
| ITV | iOS app | 6.2% |
| MTV | Now TV | 3.5% |
| MTV | Sky Go | 3.5% |
| MTV | Sky On-demand | 3.8% |
| MTV | Android app | 2.2% |
| MTV | iOS app | 2.2% |
| MUTV | YouTube channel | 2.1% |
| My 5 | Amazon Fire TV | 8.2% |
| My 5 | Android TV | 8.3% |
| My 5 | Apple TV | 8.3% |
| My 5 | Google Chromecast | 4.6% |
| My 5 | Now TV | 8.0% |
| My 5 | Roku | 8.3% |
| My 5 | Android/iOS apps | 8.3% |
| My 5 | Website | 8.3% |
| Nickelodeon | BT Vision | 2.4% |
| S4C | Samsung Smart TV | 12.1% |
| S4C | Android/iOS apps | 12.1% |
| S4C | TalkTalk TV | 12.1% |
| S4C | Website | 12.1% |
| S4C | YouView | 12.1% |
| Shorts International | Amazon | 19.4% |
| Shorts International | Google Play | 20.8% |
| Shorts International | iTunes | 17.5% |
| Sky On Demand | Sky Showcase | 2.3% |
| Turner Northern Europe[1] | BT TV | 16.3% |
| Turner Northern Europe[1] | Now TV | 21.8% |
| Turner Northern Europe[1] | Sky On-Demand | 21.8% |
| Turner Northern Europe[1] | TalkTalk TV | 43.3% |
| Turner Northern Europe[1] | Virgin TV | 22.3% |
| Virgin Media On Demand | Virgin TV | 3.9% |
[1] Turner’s figures show AD provided to platforms but not necessarily played out to consumers.
We have provided this report in an interactive form so that consumers can compare the accessibility of broadcast and on-demand services across a variety of platforms. In addition to the report we have provided excel spreadsheets containing the full data set.
If you have accessibility requirements which are not met by these publications, and would like to request information in a different format, you can email accessibility@ofcom.org.uk or call our Advisory Team from Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 17:00 on 020 7981 3040 or 0300 123 3333. If you are deaf or speech-impaired, you can use our textphone numbers, which are 020 7981 3043 or 0300 123 2024.
Full interactive report
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