RNIB petition calls for audio descriptions on streaming services

The Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB) is calling on the Government to improve the accessibility of video on demand (VOD) and streaming services in the UK.

Nearly half of UK adults consider VOD services such as ITV Hub, BBC iPlayer, All4 and Now TV their main way of watching TV and film, according to the Media Nations 2021 Report, which was published by Ofcom in September last year.

However, the majority of these services do not have audio description (AD) readily available, meaning they remain inaccessible to the 350,000 blind and partially sighted people living in the UK.

Less than a fifth of VOD services licenced by Ofcom offer AD, according to the RNIB.

The charity believes that “blind and partially sighted people are tired of waiting, and now is the time for Government to stick to their word in improving” the accessibility of these services.

They emphasised that lack of AD means these platforms are effectively excluding blind and partially sighted people from the viewing experience enjoyed by their sighted peers.

The Government has the ability to regulate VOD services and set minimum levels for audio described content. Despite this, laws have not yet been put into action.

The RNIB is now asking the public to sign its petition and join them in urging the Government to create an accessible experience for blind and partially sighted people when it comes to using streaming services.

Sonali Rai, broadcast and audio description manager at RNIB, said: “Blind and partially sighted people are tired of waiting for improvements to be implemented that will enable them to enjoy all that streaming services have to offer. Time and time again we’ve had to wait for the Government to make changes so that audio description is readily available on a large scale on these platforms.

“Enough is enough – now is the time for the Government to stick to their promise and put procedures in place that will see provisions of AD improve and be more consistent. We call on the public to join us in our campaign and to send the message to Government that the delays are not good enough by signing our petition.”

The petition can be signed online.