Television and on-demand programme services: Access services report Jan - Dec 2020

Published: 27 May 2021
Last updated: 16 June 2023

Television and on-demand programme services: Access services report – January to December 2020

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 the full calendar year 2020.

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.

On-demand (including catch-up) services are not currently under any statutory obligation to provide access services. However, they are encouraged to make their services progressively more accessible and Ofcom requires ODPS providers to submit twice-yearly data on accessibility for this purpose. The Digital Economy Act 2017 provides for Government to draft regulations imposing accessibility obligations on providers and Ofcom has made a series of recommendations to inform these. We are currently analysing responses to our second consultation in order to provide follow-up recommendations to Government.

In 2020, channels continued to meet or exceed their requirements to provide access services. We recognise this has been particularly challenging in the context of the last year as the Coronavirus pandemic raised a number of issues for broadcasters in producing and delivering access services. Ofcom welcomes the efforts that broadcasters have made in ensuring that programmes have remained accessible during this time.

Domestic channels with an audience share of between 0.05% and 1% have the option either to broadcast 60 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.

Following the end of the Brexit transition period, none of the non-domestic broadcasters that previously had a requirement to provide access services remain licensed with Ofcom. We have therefore not reported on their provision for the second half of 2020. Details of the level of provision in the first half of 2020 can be found in our previous report available here.

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. The number of providers responding can vary, which should be taken into account when comparing data with previous years.

We are aware that the Coronavirus pandemic has had an adverse effect on the production of access services.  Nevertheless, a greater proportion of providers responding to this request appear to have been offering subtitles (63.8% up from 58.1% in 2019). A slightly smaller proportion of providers were offering audio description (16.7% down from 17.4%) and signing (11.4% down from 12.8%).

On the services and platforms where access services were provided, there are small increases in the proportion of content made accessible: 58.1% of programming hours were subtitled in 2020 (up from 51.2% in 2019), 14.2% were audio described (up from 9.7%) and 2.4% were signed (up from 1.5%).

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: UK services carrying audio description during the calendar year 2020

On-demand service

Platform

% content available with audio description

All4

Apple TV

20.55%

All4

Freeview Play

12.71%

All4

Smartphone/tablet - Android app

28.76%

All4

Smartphone/tablet - iOS app

20.55%

All4

Website - own brand

25.92%

AMC CBS UK

Virgin Media On Demand

4.47%

BFI Player

Amazon Prime Video

1.88%

BFI Player

Apple TV

1.88%

BFI Player

Smart TV - Samsung

2.44%

BFI Player

Website - own brand

2.36%

BT TV

BT TV

2.19%

BT TV

YouView (BT)

2.19%

Disney+

Amazon Fire TV

29.42%

Disney+

Apple TV

29.96%

Disney+

Games console - PlayStation

29.42%

Disney+

Games console - Xbox

29.42%

Disney+

Google Chromecast

29.42%

Disney+

Now TV

29.42%

Disney+

Roku

29.42%

Disney+

Smart TV - LG

29.42%

Disney+

Smart TV - Panasonic

28.98%

Disney+

Smart TV - Philips

29.42%

Disney+

Smart TV - Samsung

29.42%

Disney+

Smartphone/tablet - Android app

29.42%

Disney+

Smartphone/tablet - iOS app

29.42%

Disney+

Website - own brand

29.42%

Iqra Bangla

Sky Go

13.32%

Iqra Bangla

Smartphone/tablet - Android app

13.32%

Iqra Bangla

Smartphone/tablet - iOS app

13.32%

Iqra Bangla

Website - own brand

13.32%

Iqra Bangla

Website - YouTube channel

64.67%

ITV Hub

Smartphone/tablet - Android app

28.40%

ITV Hub

Smartphone/tablet - iOS app

28.43%

My5

Amazon Fire TV

7.22%

My5

Android TV

7.23%

My5

Apple TV

7.12%

My5

Google Chromecast

7.23%

My5

Now TV

7.18%

My5

Roku

7.22%

My5

Smartphone/tablet - Android app

7.22%

My5

Smartphone/tablet - iOS app

7.22%

My5

Virgin Media

6.94%

My5

Virgin Media On Demand

10.55%

My5

Virgin My5 App

7.14%

My5

Website - own brand

7.24%

Nickelodeon

BT TV

9.28%

S4C Clic

Amazon Fire TV

18.33%

S4C Clic

BBC iPlayer

13.21%

S4C Clic

Freesat

18.33%

S4C Clic

Google Chromecast

18.33%

S4C Clic

Sky Go

18.33%

S4C Clic

Sky On-demand

18.33%

S4C Clic

Smart TV - Samsung

18.33%

S4C Clic

Smartphone/tablet - Android app

18.33%

S4C Clic

Smartphone/tablet - iOS app

18.33%

S4C Clic

TalkTalk TV

18.33%

S4C Clic

Virgin Media On Demand

18.33%

S4C Clic

Website - own brand

18.33%

S4C Clic

YouView (BT)

18.33%

S4C Clic

YouView (connected TV)

18.33%

S4C Clic

YouView (Plusnet)

18.33%

S4C Clic

YouView (TalkTalk)

18.33%

Shorts International

Amazon

19.35%

Shorts International

Google Play

20.83%

Shorts International

iTunes

17.54%

TURNER Nordic & UK Kids Region

BT TV

16.96%

TURNER Nordic & UK Kids Region

Now TV

26.21%

TURNER Nordic & UK Kids Region

Sky On-demand

26.21%

TURNER Nordic & UK Kids Region

TalkTalk TV

52.73%

TURNER Nordic & UK Kids Region

Virgin Media On Demand

19.21%

TURNER UK

BT Vision

18.13%

TURNER UK

Now TV

28.62%

TURNER UK

Sky On-demand

28.62%

TURNER UK

TalkTalk TV

44.25%

TURNER UK

Virgin Media On Demand

12.06%

TV Play Premium (Bite)

Smart TV - LG

0.03%

TV Play Premium (Bite)

Smart TV - Samsung

0.03%

TV Play Premium (Bite)

Smartphone/tablet - Android app

0.03%

TV Play Premium (Bite)

Smartphone/tablet - iOS app

0.03%

TV Play Premium (Bite)

Website - own brand

0.03%

*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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