Making television accessible

Ensuring that all of the world’s population has access to television services is one of the targets set by world leaders in the World Summit on the Information Society. Television is important for enhancing national identity, providing an outlet for domestic media content and getting news and information to the public, which is especially critical in times of emergencies. Television programmes are also a principal source of news and information for illiterate segments of the population, some of whom are persons with disabilities. In addition, broadcasting can serve important educational purposes, by transmitting courses and other instructional material. The emphasis of this report is on making digital media accessible. This report identifies accessibility solutions for media executives, regulators and policy makers, pay-TV operators, consumer electronics manufacturers, sales outlets as well as disabled persons organizations. The goal of this report is to assist ITU members to take the necessary steps to ensure that persons with disabilities can enjoy their CRPD right to access TV. This report has been prepared by Peter Olaf Looms, Chairman ITU-T Focus Group on Audiovisual Media Accessibility, in cooperation with G3ict.