Title
Changing subtitling audiences in the UK. A cross-sector industry perspective
Conference name
Languages & the Media 2024
City
Country
Hungary
Modalities
Date
13/11/2024-15/11/2024
Abstract
The subtitling industry has changed considerably in the last 10 years, with new distribution patterns for audiovisual content and evolving accessibility practices. Even in the UK, traditionally resistant to subtitles, new data (Yougov 2023) shows the majority of 18-24-year-olds use subtitles even when there is no language barrier. British audiences also seem increasingly interested in foreign-language film and television. New technologies have changed the means of production and distribution of audiovisual content (and subtitling) and audiences have changed with and because of it.
Fansubs may be a niche part of the industry, but platforms like Tiktok, whose audiences are huge, allow users to put subtitles on their own content and these are also increasingly diverging from professional norms. For audiences in English-speaking territories, it seems that we are living in a very fast-changing subtitling environment. This conference poses the question “what will media localisation look like tomorrow?” On the one hand the answer to this question has been focused on industry challenges (e.g. technological changes or worsening working conditions for subtitlers) and cognitive challenges (e.g. how fast viewers can read). On the other hand, research has tended to remain siloed within single disciplines with little collaboration taking place with industry or with practitioners. Our project proposes a step change and a more holistic approach that asks the question “what may media localisation look like in a tomorrow of changing audiences, expectations, levels of engagement and practices?” Our focus is on the UK, though the findings may well be applicable to other territories too. Exploratory research has pointed towards important limitations of current professional subtitling practice (Caffrey 2009, Ramos Pinto 2024) and the potential of new practices such as aesthetically integrated titles and additional notes (Fix 2017, Ramos Pinto 2024) for improved intercultural understanding. We need to know more about how subtitles could evolve to connect better with audiences and to convey content from other cultures more effectively. This has implications for audience enjoyment and for the revenue of distributors, translators and exhibitors.
We also need to understand why it is that the subtitling viewing habits of viewers under 24 in the UK are so different to those of older age groups. In this presentation we will be presenting the initial results of the newly established UK Subtitling Audiences and Reception Network project. The project addresses these research gaps by including audiences in the discussion (understood as audiences, rather than just n=x research participants) and bringing together leading researchers and stakeholders from the production, distribution, translation and exhibition sectors. In our paper we will present the results of the first cross-sector workshop of the network focused on examining the needs, expectations and challenges of different stakeholders in relation to audiences for subtitled media. We will provide valuable insight on how producers, distributors, translation professionals, software developers and other stakeholders understand the purpose and uses of subtitling, how they deploy terminology differently, how they understand the concept of audience, and how their perceptions of audience needs and wishes contribute to their policies and practices.
Fansubs may be a niche part of the industry, but platforms like Tiktok, whose audiences are huge, allow users to put subtitles on their own content and these are also increasingly diverging from professional norms. For audiences in English-speaking territories, it seems that we are living in a very fast-changing subtitling environment. This conference poses the question “what will media localisation look like tomorrow?” On the one hand the answer to this question has been focused on industry challenges (e.g. technological changes or worsening working conditions for subtitlers) and cognitive challenges (e.g. how fast viewers can read). On the other hand, research has tended to remain siloed within single disciplines with little collaboration taking place with industry or with practitioners. Our project proposes a step change and a more holistic approach that asks the question “what may media localisation look like in a tomorrow of changing audiences, expectations, levels of engagement and practices?” Our focus is on the UK, though the findings may well be applicable to other territories too. Exploratory research has pointed towards important limitations of current professional subtitling practice (Caffrey 2009, Ramos Pinto 2024) and the potential of new practices such as aesthetically integrated titles and additional notes (Fix 2017, Ramos Pinto 2024) for improved intercultural understanding. We need to know more about how subtitles could evolve to connect better with audiences and to convey content from other cultures more effectively. This has implications for audience enjoyment and for the revenue of distributors, translators and exhibitors.
We also need to understand why it is that the subtitling viewing habits of viewers under 24 in the UK are so different to those of older age groups. In this presentation we will be presenting the initial results of the newly established UK Subtitling Audiences and Reception Network project. The project addresses these research gaps by including audiences in the discussion (understood as audiences, rather than just n=x research participants) and bringing together leading researchers and stakeholders from the production, distribution, translation and exhibition sectors. In our paper we will present the results of the first cross-sector workshop of the network focused on examining the needs, expectations and challenges of different stakeholders in relation to audiences for subtitled media. We will provide valuable insight on how producers, distributors, translation professionals, software developers and other stakeholders understand the purpose and uses of subtitling, how they deploy terminology differently, how they understand the concept of audience, and how their perceptions of audience needs and wishes contribute to their policies and practices.