8 January 2013
The popular television channel, E4, from the Channel 4 network, delivered audio description on 42.9 per cent of its programmes from January to June last year according to Ofcom's first bi-annual report for 2012 on the provision of access services.
Current Ofcom regulation requires 10 per cent of programmes to be audio described by the tenth anniversary of a channel's digital licence.
However, most channels are exceeding this obligation by describing much more.
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BBC 1 delivered Audio Description (AD) on 15.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2012.
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BBC 2 followed suit and described 15.10 per cent of its programmes
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ITV 1 described 17.4 per cent of programmes during this period
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Channel 4 tops this list having provided AD on 25.8 per cent of programmes
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Channel 5 also described 12.8 per cent of programmes
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Sky One provided AD on 23 per cent of the programmes
Out of the 67 channels that were required to provide AD on at least 10 per cent of their programming, 12 channels provided AD on over 30 per cent of their programming.
The following four channels delivered AD on more than 40 per cent of their programming:
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Sky Movies Showcase
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Sky Movies Family
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Sky Movies Comedy
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E4
In 2010, following a strong campaign by RNIB, a number of broadcasters committed on a voluntary basis to increase audio description on all or most of their channels to 20 per cent. This included the BBC (building to 20 per cent from 10 per cent in 2 per cent increments each year), ITV, Channel 4, and Sky.
It is evident from the latest Ofcom report that a number of channels are exceeding the 20 per cent target as well.
Additonally, despite there being no regulation to make content on video on demand players accessible for people with sight loss, BBC and Channel 4 are making audio described programming available on the BBC iPlayer and 4oD respectively, following the television broadcasts.
The complete report on television access services can be found on the Ofcom website.
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