Two women speaking to each other using sign language

Give us your view on British Sign Language on TV channels and on-demand services

Published: 6 May 2021
Last updated: 3 July 2023

We’re inviting people who use British Sign language (BSL) to tell us what they think about the use of BSL on TV and video-on-demand services. This survey will help to shape the future of sign language on TV and on demand.

We want to find out how often BSL users watch signed programmes, the types of programmes they watch, and what they think of the quality and availability of signed programmes.

The feedback we receive will be crucial in helping to inform our guidelines on signing for TV channels and on-demand services - including what types of programmes should be prioritised for signing.

We’d like to hear from people who:

  • are over 16 and use BSL to communicate;
  • live with someone over 16 who uses BSL to communicate; or
  • have a child under 16 who uses BSL to communicate.

People with more than one BSL user in their household can complete one survey for each BSL user.

You can respond through an online BSL-interpreted survey, or by sending us a video of them signing their response.

The survey is open until Thursday 1 July, and we will publish a report on the results on our website

We plan to carry out further research with BSL users in future – if you would like to be involved please email accessibility@ofcom.org.uk. You can find out more about our accessibility work on our website.

We are happy that Ofcom have asked the BSL community to share their opinion on their preferences for the type of TV that is provided, the trade-off that exists in regulation between broadcasters making mainstream content accessible in BSL, and funding the creation of BSL created and presented content aimed directly at the community. We encourage all BSL users to participate in shaping the future of BSL on TV and sharing this survey widely among the community.

Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID)
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