OVERVIEW OF BROADCASTING LEGISLATION FOR DISABLED PEOPLE Dr Mark Downs Executive Director of Technology and Enterprise Tokyo, 20thFebruary 2004 ABOUT RNID .RNID is the largest charity representing the 9 million deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK. .35,000 members, 1200 staff, .Turnover 780 million yen RNIDfs work .Campaigning .Education and training .Care Homes .Relay services, video relay .Technology .Research .International partners Early neuronal targettingNeurofilamentLinking nerve with implant RNID funded genetic research Age-related hearing loss research Normal Exposed to noise The problem Hair cells lost with age and exposure to loud noise Community equipment .Working with other disability charities .Visual, Physical and Mental disability .Early years assessment to bring everything together THE IMPORTANCE OF TELEVISION .gInformation, democratic dialogue and cultural and social values. These words reveal the important role of broadcasting in our societies. It is not simply an industry like any other.h-Viviane Reding, EU Commisioner .UK-people watch average of 3hrs 38mins TV a day WHAT DISABLED PEOPLE NEED FROM TV? .Access to content .Physical access .Work opportunities in the media .Representation on the screen and positive portrayal .Education and awareness of disability issues for the wider society REGULATION OF TELEVISION IN EUROPE .TV broadcasting regulatory requirements and provisions for disabled people vary greatly across Europe .Broadcasting is also regulated at a European Union level but there are no provisions relating to disabled people ACCESS/ASSISTIVE SERVICES .Subtitling-main focus for RNID .Sign Language .Audio Description .Two dimensions to access-quantity of services and technical standards to enable comprehensive access to the services UK BROADCASTING ENVIRONMENT .UK broadcasting heavily regulated compared to many European countries .Subtitles developed in the early 1980s .Broadcasting legislation has strengthened gradually over the last 15 years-1990 and 1996 Broadcasting Acts and 2003 Communications Act UK LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM .Pre legislative scrutiny -special joint committee chaired by Lord Puttnam-started in 2002 .Government Bill-Communications Bill 2003 .Parliamentary scrutiny in House of Commons and Lords .Implementation by new regulator-Office of Communications (Ofcom) 2003 COMMUNICATIONS ACT .Legislation regulating broadcasting and telecommunications .Established Ofcomas new regulator replacing separate regulating bodies for television, telecoms and radio .Sets targets for levels of access services,quality standards and promotion of these services ACCESS PROVISIONS .70 Terrestrial and many cable and satellite channels -targets over the next 10 years .Mixture of various targets have been set for these channels every one or two years reaching up to 80% subtitling on the biggest channels after 10 years .British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) will subtitle 100% by 2008 on main channels .5% signing & 10% Audio Description targets after 10 years UK SUBTITLING CAMPAIGN .2001-postcard campaign-30,000 sent to MPs .Lobbying before and during passage of Communications Bill .Lobbying of Ofcom over implementation of the Act .Ofcomestimates the economic benefit as ’260m but could be seen as up to ’1.72bn .1m in UK depend on subtitles. Further 4m use them regularly .Need for more promotion and information THE EUROPEAN AUDIENCE .By 2005 over 81.5 million people will have a hearing loss in Europe .174,000 children in Europe with severe hearing loss & further 600,000 with mild hearing loss .70 million people aged 60 and above in the EU-1 in 5 of the population. Next 15 years- population aged 65 and over will increase by 22%, people aged 80 and over will rise by almost 50% THE WIDER PUBLIC .Language learning-eustrategy .Children learning to read .Domestic environment .Learning difficulties .Assistive services benefitall OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES .Some good examples-Netherlands, Ireland, France .But level of broadcasting access legislation for disabled people varies greatly across Europe but is generally at a very low level .Non discrimination legislation in European countries- THE EUROPEAN UNION .The European Union (EU) is made up of 25 European countries .Set up common institutions to which they delegate some of their sovereignty so that decisions on specific matters of joint interest can be made at European level THE EU DIMENSION IN BROADCASTING .Television Without Frontiers Directive-eCornerstone of European broadcasting policyf .home production quotas, single market, consumer protection-no mention of disabled people .Art 3a-access to events of major importance .Cultural & linguistic diversity and access to heritage CAMPAIGN FOR EUROPEAN ACTION PLANS .LEVELS OF SUBTITLING AND SIGN LANGUAGE ON TELEVISION IN EU MEMBER STATES-SPREAD BEST PRACTICE .TECHNICAL STANDARDS-COMPREHENSIVE, EASY ACCESS TO ASSISTIVE SERVICES-CENELEC eTV FOR ALLf REPORT .AWARENESS RAISING & INFORMATION .ESTABLISH FORMAL CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION WITH DISABILITY GROUPS EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT REPORT ON TVWF gcalls on the Commission, in its work programme, to include an annual benchmarking report on the progress in all EU Member States on making digital TV accessible for people with disabilitiesh European Parliament report on Television without Frontiers (2003/2033(INI) PROSPECTS FOR CHANGE .European Commission response-promised to eraise awarenessf-TVWF review in 2005 .Information Society and Media now under the same Commission DG .eAccessibility Communication and INCOM report .European audiovisual observatory .But pressure has to come from national campaigns in EU member states NATIONAL CAMPAIGNS .Netherlands-public debate .Ireland-cross party support .Sweden-poster campaign .Switzerland-public petition DISABILITY LEGISLATION .UK-The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) -end the discrimination against disabled people. .DDA Part III-Scopefs eTime to get equalfcampaign .Established Disability Rights Commission-move to a unitary Commission for Equality and Human Rights .EU-Framework Directive on equal treatment in employment and occupation 2000, Charter of Fundamental Rights. .Campaign for disability specific directive DISABLED PEOPLE IN THE MEDIA .UK-Broadcasting & Creative Industries Disability Network-access to the workforce, workplace, content and representation on the screen- www1.sky.com/accessibility/bdn.htm .Europe-European Congress on Media and Disability-June 2003-- www.edf-feph.org/en/welcome.htm- Technology for the Future .Virtual singing .Signing on TV .Mobile texting Virtual signing Eye Gaze Studies .Computer hardware used to find out exactly where people are looking when watching signed TV programmes .Both first and second language signers .A range of programmetypes .Software being produced in-house for analysis RNID/BBC Research (picture) Mobile real time text(picture) CONCLUSIONS .Television is a vital source of entertainment and information .Disabled people need access to content as well as job opportunities and positive portrayal in broadcasting .There is a lack of legislation in European countries and at an EU level on access to content with notable exceptions such as the UK .But a number of European countries have general non discrimination legislation and there is also legislation at an EU level