TV

It is with great reluctance that I am complaining about audio description again so soon. I am honestly not planning on making this a weekly occurrence.

The decision regarding AD for the final episode of the Apprentice was probably taken before Tuesday Night’s broadcast of BBC Radio 4’s In Touch, which did an excellent job of highlighting the plight of the blind community in campaigning for consistent, reliable and equitable targets for audio described television. I certainly would not expect In Touch to cover this again in the near future. Clearly other issues exist which impact the quality of life of blind people which require In Touch’s attention.

However, on the face of it at least, it would seem that someone somewhere is not getting the message about audio description. I respect that their may have been delivery constraints in respect of the live part of BBC Two’s broadcast of the final episode of The Apprentice. However, the vast majority of this broadcast was pre-recorded and thus could have been delivered with audio description consistent with previous episodes of the Apprentice.

So in time honoured tradition…

Dear BBC

For your information I intend sending copies of this complaint to Ofcom, Sky’s accessibility team, the RNIB and BBC Radio 4’s In Touch which carries information of interest to blind people.

I have enjoyed the BBC Two series The Apprentice, which has been fantastically audio described on Freeview and digital satellite. I was hugely frustrated when I sat down on 10 May to find that even though The final episode of The Apprentice had been advertised as audio described in TV listings, the broadcast itself was not. Surely this is a mistake?

I appreciate that only some broadcasters are obligated to broadcast only a small percentage of their output with audio description. However for the BBC, arguably the world’s leading public service broadcaster, having offered a prime time series with the profile of The Apprentice with AD, only to drop the AD for the final episode seems incomprehensible.

Yours faithfully
—
Dave Williams

From: Michael Foster MP
Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 6:14 PM
To: Dave Williams
Subject: OFCOM report

Dear David Williams

Thank you for your letter of the 3rd May about the report by Ofcom.

I will be writing to Ofcom to reinforce the point you make and as soon as I have a response I will contact you again.

You may be aware that I have worked closely with Dolphin over the years and make regular visits to RNIB New College and the issues you raise are of great interest to me.

Thank you for contacting me about this matter.

Best wishes
Yours sincerely
Michael Foster MP
Worcester

The BBC web site will shortly be updated to carry details of the In Touch for 9 May, featuring coverage of events surrounding the initial lack of audio description for the Channel 4 series Lost.

I’ve seen a couple of these, and BBC One’s The Street really is brilliant.

This is extremely important. Carol has a lot of respect amongst educationalists and TV viewers in the UK. Surely there are stacks of other ways Carol could make a living. Do a couple more of them Test the Nation and Big Quizz shows for the Beeb and Sky One. Get channel for to renegociate her Countdown contract and market old episodes of Countdown to Challenge TV giving Carol a percentage. Unsecured personal loans are an abismal way to make a living. We love ya Carol, you can do better than this.

Great that Channel 4 have acted so quickly. Hopefully this will send a clear message to other broadcasters that people desire and are listening to audio description.

Following an exchange on Wednesday 3 May involving myself, Channel 4 and RNIB regarding the lack of audio description at the start of season two of the ABC drama Lost, I decided to send the following message to my MP, Michael Foster, the member for Worcester.

The amount of feedback I have had about this has been fantastic. Thank you all!

I welcome any other suggestions for how best to advocate for an increase in the amount of optional audio description available via TV and DVD.

Many thanks.

Dear Michael Foster,

I am a young professional blind person who recently moved to the Bath Road area of your Worcester constituency.

A recent report published by Ofcom, the communications industry regulator, regarding the “Media Literacy of Disabled People” found:

“In comparison to all UK adults under 65, disabled people aged under 65 watch more TV, listen to more radio, and use the internet and mobile phones to a similar extent.”

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/media_literacy/medlitpub/medlitpubrss/disabled/

As a blind person who does all of the above, I and many of my fellow constituents definitely fall into this demographic.

Audio description is an optional additional commentary that describes what is happening on the screen or the stage for people such as myself who have difficulty seeing the action, body language, facial expressions, costume or scenery. More information about audio description, including how to switch it on and off, can be found from the RNIB’s web site.

http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_audiodescription.hcsp

Ofcom are currently carrying out a vital consultation which will affect future audio description targets and as we live in an aging society which has an increasing number of partially sighted and blind people, it is important that Ofcom make sure these audio description targets are equitable.

Did you know for example that under existing requirements only 8% of the output of the major channels is available audio described compared with the announcement from Ofcom in July 2004 which will increase subtitling to around 80% by the end of the next parliament!

With two million people suffering from some kind of sight loss in the UK, how can the communications industry regulator justify only 8% of TV output being audio described when 80% will be subtitled. Are people with hearing loss 10 times more deserving than people with sight loss?

If Ofcom are permitted to allow this obscene inequality to continue, the industry regulator will not only be failing the industry itself, but government and most importantly disabled consumers.

I urge yourself and your party, who are supporters of social justice, to make good on your manifesto commitments to equality by showing your support for the RNIB’s campaign for at least 20% of TV output to be audio described by digital switchover.

Worcester is home to a world leading developer of computer software for blind people (Dolphin Computer Access based on the Blackpole Trading Estate)

www.dolphincomputeraccess.com

Worcester is also home to a national school catering for people who are blind and visually impaired (New College on Whittington Road).

www.rnibncw.ac.uk

It is reasonable to anticipate that the number of blind and low vision constituents in Worcester is already increasing and will continue to do so in the near future.

With it’s strong ties to the blind community, Worcester should be a centre of excellence and be leading the way in advocating for services for people with sight loss. It is imperative that you and your government take appropriate action to make sure Ofcom do not leave this inequality unchecked.

Below I include a recent complaint I submitted to Channel 4 after the channel dropped audio description at the start of the second season of a high profile primetime drama.

Yours sincerely,

From: Dave Williams [mailto:home@davewilliams.co.uk]
Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 11:00 PM
To: Viewer Enquiries at Channel 4
Subject: Audio Description for Lost season two?

Dear Sir/Madam,

For your information I am sending copies of this complaint to Ofcom, Sky’s accessibility team, the RNIB and BBC Radio 4’s In Touch which carries information of interest to blind people.

Having been left on the edge of my seat after enjoying all 26 audio described episodes of the first season of the US smash series Lost on Channel 4 (Sky Channel 994) I was thrilled when Channel 4 announced they would be screening season 2 of Lost in May.

Often the only way to access AD is when the series is televised, as audio description hardly ever makes it onto DVD. Certainly in the case of Lost the audio description for series one was not available on DVD. I do not expect it to be available on the season two DVDs either.

As Channel 4 had broadcast audio description for season one, and subsequently heavily promoted the upcoming broadcast of season two it seemed reasonable to assume that audio description would be broadcast on Channel 4 with season two also.

I was bitterly disappointed when I sat down on Tuesday evening after months of build-up to discover no audio description for the first episode of Lost season 2. Surely this is a mistake?

This was made worse by the fact that the first episode of season two of Lost begins with a five minute sequence which has no dialog.

Audio description is an important service providing additional information to blind and partially sighted people about on-screen action which is not self-evident from the audio alone.

I appreciate that only some broadcasters are obligated to broadcast only a small percentage of their output with audio description. However for Channel 4, a broadcaster with a public service remit having offered a prime time series with the profile of Lost with AD, only to drop the AD for the second season seems incomprehensible.

Regards,