Protests for more accessible video subtitle services

Protestors from the Subtitle It! campaign handed a petition to Government today demanding improved accessibility for video-on-demand services.

The petition was delivered to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport by the Royal National Institute for Deaf people (RNID) and Royal National Institute of Blind people (RNIB).

The Petition

Signed by 25,767 people, the petition calls on the Government to implement Clause 93 of the Digital Economy Act 2017, which introduces legal targets for British Sign Language, subtitles and audio description for broadcasters providing catch-up services.

The broadcasting regulator Ofcom issued its final recommendations to the government last year, proposing targets of 80% for subtitling and 5% for BSL interpretation. This coincides with the current requirement for major broadcasters to provide subtitles for up to 90% of programmes on regular television.

Despite these regulations, the Government is yet to enforce such targets.

Subtitle it!

“When subtitles aren’t readily available, it makes me anxious. I shouldn’t have to feel this – things should just be there and ready,” says Charlotte Hyde, a Deaf advocate and driving force behind the Subtitle IT! Campaign.

“If you can broadcast a TV show live with subtitles, why can’t it be on-demand? It’s upsetting and frustrating that this continues to happen.

“If subtitles were readily available on-demand, that would mean I could finally sit down and enjoy things with my family and I’m not having to move my schedule around to be able to watch something. I would be able to enjoy entertainment on the same level as my hearing peers.”

The campaign was necessary because more than five years after the Digital Economy Act passed, no action has been taken to improve accessibility for deaf/hard of hearing.

“Deaf people and people with hearing loss are sick of feeling left behind,” says Teri Devine, Associate Director for Inclusion at the charity. “We urge the Government to put the Digital Economy Act regulations into action, and start the clock on subtitling, signing, and audio description quotas for TV on-demand.”

You can follow the campaign here on Twitter to keep up with the latest developments.