CRTC restrictions, high production costs put Canadian TV beyond reach of visually impaired

The high cost of producing Described Video (DV) and regulatory restrictions are preventing visually impaired people from fully accessing broadcast services on television, says a report commissioned by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) for the CRTC's Nov. 17 hearing on access of broadcasting services to people with disabilities.Broadcasters surveyed for the report said the biggest challenge they encounter is the cost of producing TV content: $1600/hour for English programming and $1750/hour for French programming, compared to $33/hour for closed captioning for people with hearing disabilities. DV production costs are higher because they involve scriptwriters, performers, and technicians. BDUs also complain that DV requires extra bandwidth, resulting in higher costs.Regulatory restrictions that confine DV programming to specific genres like drama and documentaries were also identified as obstacles hindering access to the visually impaired. In addition, restrictions stipulating that such programming be broadcast between 7:00 PM-11:00 PM to qualify broadcasters to meet their Broadcasting Act obligations were identified as hindrances.The report says Canadian private broadcasters and BDUs are committed to providing DV content - but there are other challenges. They include lack of DV in programs acquired from abroad, tight production schedules, technical challenges for users, lack of audience measurement, lack of feedback from the disability community, few DV service providers, and lack of DV programming awareness and challenges in promoting its availability.DV, also known as Video Description, Audio Description, and Described Video Service, involves have a describer and an audio production expert add a voice-over to a program during pauses in dialogue. The describer explains to the audience what is happening on the screen.With less than three weeks to go before the CRTC starts hearings on access of broadcasting services to people with disabilities, the report was welcomed by the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians, which said it agreed with CAB's position on the problems associated with DV production."Although the CRTC has always stressed that broadcasters increase their DV content during licence renewals, it is not nearly enough," says John Rae, first VP for the alliance.Pierre Pontbriand, the CAB's VP for communications, says the association is well aware of the shortcomings on DV and that's why it took the initiative to commission a report that it hopes will form a basis for correcting problems.To make DV more accessible, participants interviewed for the report say the Accessible Channel is one solution, including establishing quality control, pooling resources and sharing programming, raising DV awareness.Rae says the problems associated with DV production call for a more aggressive manner of regulation from the CRTC, adding that the Accessible Channel shouldn't be used as an excuse for not providing DV on other television channels.

CRTC restrictions, high production costs put Canadian TV beyond reach of visually impaired

News | 10/30/2008 5:50 pm EDT

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