SUBTITLING ON DIGITAL TV SET TO INCREASE

SUBTITLING is set to increase to 80 per cent of programming on digital terrestrial television. This is an increase of sixty per cent above the current target of fifty per cent.
It now means that people who are deaf or hard of hearing will have greater access to a wider choice of programmes.
Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, said: "The Government wants everyone to benefit from digital television, to have more choice and enjoy better quality sound and pictures. But if everyone is to benefit, we must ensure that the needs of those with disabilities are met. This is why I am instructing the providers of digital terrestrial services to make sure that 80 per cent of programmes will now be subtitled, an increase of 60 percent above the previous target. I believe that this is a challenging but achievable target and will give people with hearing disabilities greater access to digital programmes".
Plans to improve access to digital television services for people with sensory impairments were outlined in a report called the Review of the Statutory Requirements for the Provision of Subtitling, Sign Language and Audio Description Services, published earlier this year by the DCMS. (CD)