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Introduction

Ofcom is suggesting that some changes be made to the way TV programmes are made for deaf people who use sign language. This is just a summary of the changes we are suggesting. If you want to find out all the details, you should look at the full document, which you can find by clicking on this link: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/signing/.

Many deaf people use subtitles on TV to understand and enjoy the programmes. But some deaf people whose first language is signing can find it difficult to understand subtitles, and so use signing to understand television programmes. Some deaf people use both subtitles and signing to understand TV programmes. Sign language uses hand signs and facial expressions to make words and sentences. It is recognised by the Government as a separate language, like English or Gaelic.

What the law says

Parliament has made a law (the Communications Act 2003) to help deaf people who use sign language. This law says that, unless there are special reasons, TV channels should show some programmes with sign language.

The law says that, after ten years, 5% of the broadcast time on a TV channel must have sign language. But it is up to the people in charge of the TV channel (the broadcasters) to decide whether programmes with sign language should be made for deaf people and presented in sign language, or whether they should have a signer translating the programme added to the picture.

Ofcom is in charge of making sure that TV channels do what the law says. We have made a Code, with rules about which channels should show some programmes with signing. These rules mean that, at the moment, about 90 channels show some signed programmes on TV. Some of these channels have lots of people watching them, like the BBC and ITV, but some channels have very few viewers.

How signing on TV is done now

Because it is cheaper to add a picture of a signer to a programme made for hearing people, all TV channels do this (the only programme presented in sign language – See Hear – is on BBC One). Almost all programmes with signing are shown very late at night, because broadcasters think that many hearing people do not like to watch programmes with signing translation.

What sign language users told us they think about signing on TV

Last year, we asked researchers to find out how many people could use signing to watch TV, and what they thought about the programmes. They found out that about 66,000 people in this country know sign language well enough to use it to watch television. But many of these people preferred to watch TV with subtitles rather than signing. And although there are 90 channels that provide signing, many people (44%) could only get five channels – BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five. We think this means that very few sign language users are watching the TV channels with small audiences.

Deaf people told the researchers that most programmes with signing are shown too late at night. They also said that most deaf people who use sign language prefer programmes presented in sign language (like See Hear).

What Ofcom did next

When we published the research results in March 2006, we asked deaf people, deaf organisations and broadcasters to suggest how to make signing on TV better for deaf people who use sign language.

We talked to deaf groups like the RNID and the British Deaf Association about what the researchers had found. They agreed that most deaf people who use sign language would like to see more programmes presented in sign language, even if this meant that there was fewer signed programmes overall. They said that they would prefer that the money spent on adding sign language to programmes made for hearing people was spent on programmes made for deaf people, where the presenters used sign language. If possible, they would like signed programmes to be put on one channel so that people would know when they were on, rather than shown on lots of different channels at different times. They would also like the programmes to be shown at more convenient times.

We also talked to the people in charge of TV channels. They told us that they did not want to make signed programmes just for deaf people, as many hearing people watched their channels. Some channels said that they might be interested in giving some money to another channel which could make signed programmes for deaf people. Other channels said that asking channels with very small audiences to show programmes with signing was a waste of money. They said that it was not likely that many deaf people who use signing would watch those channels, so signing on those channels doesn’t help deaf people. They suggested that the TV channels could do a bit more subtitling instead.

What Ofcom thinks

We thought about these ideas, and we also thought about what the law says. The law says that we need to think about different things when deciding what to do. Among the things we have to think about are:

• what deaf people would need;
• what it would be reasonable to ask TV channels to do; and
• what Parliament was trying to do when it made the law.

Having looked at what the researchers found and listened to what deaf groups told us, we think that our aim should be to get more programmes presented in sign language, even if this means that there are fewer programmes translated into sign language. But we think that deaf people who can only receive BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five would want signing on those channels to stay as it is so that, whatever happens on low audience channels, they can continue to watch signed programmes. We also think that we should not ask TV channels to spend more money on signing, subtitling and audio description than our code says they must do at the moment. We also think that any different arrangements shouldn’t mean that TV channels could cut the amount of subtitling they do.

The law says that, if there are special reasons, Ofcom can excuse TV channels from the normal rules for showing programmes with signing. The law says what these special reasons could be. For example, if very few sign language users are likely to watch TV channels with low audiences, and this means that the money that TV channels are spending isn’t helping deaf people, Ofcom can decide that the TV channels do not have to follow the normal rules. In this case, Ofcom can tell the TV channel to do something different on its own channel that would help deaf people who use sign language more.

We think that there are special reasons why we cannot ask TV channels with low audiences to carry on as now. The researchers found that very few sign language users are likely to watch TV channels with low audiences, which means that the money that TV channels are spending isn’t helping deaf people. So we think that we should tell TV channels with low audiences not to do signing as they do now.

Instead, we think that they should show some programmes presented in sign-language at least once a month, between 7am and 11pm. These programmes are much more expensive to make than programmes translated into sign language. For example, it can cost about £600 to translate an hour-long programme into sign language, but £30,000 to make a programme presented in sign language. So it wouldn’t be fair to ask TV channels to broadcast the same number of programmes presented in sign language.

If TV channels want to do something different from this, we will consider their suggestions. But we can’t tell them to do something different on another channel, only what they should do on their own channel. Sky and the Community Channel have already made one suggestion. They suggest that, instead of showing signed programmes on their own channels, TV channels could give some money to the Community Channel. The Community Channel could use this money to buy or make programmes presented in sign language, and show then at different times during the week. These times would not be very late at night, and would include times when people with Freeview could see the Community Channel.

There would be a Trust in charge of the money, and deaf people and broadcasters would be members of this Trust. We asked a working group of people who use sign language what they thought of this suggestion, and they thought that it was quite a good idea.

In Annex 4 of the consultation document, we have listed some questions. The aim of these questions is to find out what people think about the ideas summarised here. We hope that deaf people who use sign language to watch television, and the people in charge of TV channels, will tell us what they think. If you would like to tell us what you think, please let us by 14 June 2007, so that we can decide on any different arrangements in time for TV channels to start these by 2008.

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