ITU Workshop on
“Making Media Accessible to all:
The options and the economics”
(Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2013)
Policies to promote media accessibility
by multiple stakeholders across EU
Member States
Joanna Wrona
Policy Officer
European Commission
joanna.wrona@ec.europa.eu
Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2013
Audiovisual Media Services Directive
(Directive 2010/13/EU)
Scope: audiovisual media services
broadcasts + on-demand services
Rules aimed at protection of general
interests
The right of persons with disability and
of elderly to participate and be
integrated in the social and cultural life
of the Union is inextricably linked to the
provision of accessible
audiovisual
media services (recital 46 AVMSD)
Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2013
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Promotion of accessibility services
(Article 7 AVMSD)
EU Member States obliged to:
encourage media service providers
under their jurisdiction to ensure that
their services are gradually made
accessible to people with a visual or
hearing disability.
Means to achieve accessibility:
Sign language, subtitling, audio
description and easily understandable
menu navigation
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Article 7 AVMSD - Implementation
tools
Application Reports every 3 years
1st application Report May 2012
Monitoring
SMART 2011/0070, Study on assessing
and promoting e-accessibility, May 2013
Consultations:
Green paper: Preparing for a fully
converged Audiovisual World: Growth,
Creation and Values; closed Sept. 2013
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1st Application Report on AVMSD
AVMSD- an incentive to introduce or
reinforce rules on accessibility
The implementation of these rules
differs a lot among MSs:
Some MS - detailed statutory rules
Others - very general provisions, or
Self-and co-regulation
Some limit the accessibility obligation to
PSBs
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Overview of measures taken by the
Member States
Accessibility requirements set as:
Progressive
targets
in
terms
of
accessible programmes
Promotion of access services
Voluntary approach (in particular for
other services than subtitling)
Commercial broadcasters: accessibility
requirement set as licencing obligation
or condition for DTT authorization
Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2013
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Overview of measures taken by the
Member States
Accessibility requirements for ondemand-providers : regulated only
in few MSs
Technology offers more possibilities to assist
visually, hearing and cognitive impaired
persons (..) these opportunities may be lost
if accessible content (..) is not produced or
not made available to end users
Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2013
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Other incentives
Financial
incentives
for
film
productions (e.g. increased rate of
support where accessibility versions
are made)
State aid measures (e.g. for
subtitling of evening news or in the
field of production and broadcasting
for hearing impaired people)
Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2013
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Subtitling
All MSs provide for subtitling
services but standards vary a lot
Average
volumes
52%
of
overall
programming
a challenge: not just volumes of subtitled
programmes but quality of subtitling!
Examples of good practice: UK and NL
(almost 100% subtitling) FR, BE, IE, SE
and FI
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Sign language
In comparison with subtitling much
lower
volumes
of
signed
programmes (on average well
below 5% of overall programming)
some countries do not provide for sign
language at all
PT, BE, UK, SK : higher shares of
programmes signed (10- 16%)
Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2013
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Audio description
Programmes with audio description
broadcast in 13 Member States
Share of overall programming quite
low ( average volumes range
between 4% and 11% of overall
programming)
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Green Paper on convergence
http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/public-consultationsmedia-issues
Question 26:
Do you think additional standardisation
efforts are needed in this field?
Question 27:
What incentives could be offered to
encourage investment in innovative
services for people with disabilities?
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Conclusions
Very
varied
level
of
accessibility
requirements across Member States
Scope for improvement as regards
implementation, especially with regard to
commercial broadcasters
Main obstacle: cost of accessibility
services
Main challenge : accessibility obligations
for on demand services!!
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