The Case for TV Accessibility at DR ITU Workshop on “Making Media Accessible to All: The Options and the Economics” (Geneva, Switzerland, 24 (p.m.) – 25 October 2013) The Case for TV Accessibility at DR Peter Mølsted Danish Broadcasting Corporation, DR <peml@dr.dk> Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2013

Public service broadcaster Denmark: 5.5 million people 44,000 km2 Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2013

Media Accessibility - action on 5 fronts 1 Intelligibility (audio & pictures) Access services Meta content (EPGs, spots) TV interfaces (keep it simple) Interfaces to 3rd party assistive technologies (e.g. wireless connection TV> hearing aids) 2 3 4 Action is required on all 5 fronts, regardless of whether we are talking about TV, web or mobiles. The emphasis will be different - but the action points all make sense regardless of what media we are talking about. 5

Inter- & intra-lingual subtitles Visual signing Audio Description Access services 2 Inter- & intra-lingual subtitles Visual signing Audio Description These services go back a lot further than most people realise. - The granddad of subtitles - intertitles - appeared in a film in 1903. - The first Danish film with visual signing was shown at a congress of the Finnish association of the deaf in 1929. - And AD came from live US theatre performances in 1981.

Audio/spoken subtitles 2 DR1Syn (a virtual channel for viewers needing description and spoken subtitles) has been operational since 2008 It’s the twin sister of DR1. May 2012 saw the soft launch of spoken subtitles for programmes in foreign languages Interlingual subtitles for programs in a foreign language

Focus on disability 30 years ago, the focus was on disabilities. The starting point was on helping viewers who were deaf or hard-of-hearing. The access service was chosen for such viewers. Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2013

From disability to accessibility For viewers with visual & cognitive disabilities, dyslexia, weak readers and immigrants As access service provision matured, we started to shift the focus from disability to accessibility, Trying to see how we could help as many viewers as possible with their own needs and requirements. Shifting the focus made it possible for DR to increase the proportion of the population who could enjoy watching TV. Here are some of the main audience groups we can cater for when we have both subtitles and audio subtitles. Geneva, Switzerland, 24 October 2013

Why? - the case for audio subtitles In countries that don’t dub but subtitle programmes, some viewers with diabilities… Can’t see the subtitles Can’t read the subtitles in that language Can’t read subtitles fast enough to follow the programme. Geneva, Switzerland, 24 October 2013

Modest Capex costs (<USD 60,000) Modest operating costs per channel The cost-benefit Modest Capex costs (<USD 60,000) Modest operating costs per channel Small contribution to ratings 1,200+ hours of TV on DR1 now ”accessible” each year Big increase in quality ratings for foreign news items and documentaries Still issues with TV-drama and films Geneva, Switzerland, 24 October 2013

The evidence https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4655124/Thrane_speciale_med_bilag.pdf Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2013

Also for viewers with cognitive impairments Audio Description 2 AD is available primarily in connection with TV fiction on Sundays. AD and spoken subtitles complement each other (one for Danish programmes, the other for programmes in foreign languages). Also for viewers with cognitive impairments Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2013

Standards in the Nordic countries Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2013

Standards in the Nordic countries Two options for delivering AD Mixing the audio at source (broadcast mix) and Mixing the audio in the receiver (receiver mix) Are both options equally good? Geneva, Switzerland, 24 October 2013

Standards in the Nordic countries Two options for delivering AD Mixing the audio at source (broadcast mix) and Mixing the audio in the receiver (receiver mix) Are both options equally good? Geneva, Switzerland, 24 October 2013

Tests in 2012 in the Nordic countries Broadcast mix is a mandatory requirement – works on all the main TV receivers in the Nordic countries Receiver mix is an option requirement – works on under half of TV receivers in the Nordic countries NorDig dropping optional requirements Geneva, Switzerland, 24 October 2013

Shift the focus from disability to accessibility Two take-aways Shift the focus from disability to accessibility Wherever possible go for mandatory requirements and not the easy route of optional requirements. Geneva, Switzerland, 24 October 2013

Thank you Peter Mølsted DR Distribution DR-Byen DK-0999 Copenhagen C DENMARK <peml@dr.dk> Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2013

Conclusions and Recommendations Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2013