The Broadcasting Act, 2001 makes a number of provisions in respect of rules to be made by the Commission to promote the understanding and enjoyment of programmes by persons who are deaf or hard of hearing and persons who are blind or visually impaired. The relevant provisions are Section 19 (11) and Section 19(12) (as amended by Section 53 of the Disability Act, 2005).

In accordance with these provisions, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland developed the Access Rules following a substantial consultation process with broadcasters and representatives of the Deaf, hard of hearing and visually impaired communities. The Access Rules have been in effect since March 1 st 2005 and they specify percentage targets and timeframes in relation to the level of subtitling, sign language and audio description to be provided by broadcasters. These rules apply to broadcasters under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Ireland or those who make use of a frequency or satellite capacity or up-link based in the Republic of Ireland. In practical terms, the Access Rules have to date applied to the four indigenous terrestrial services namely, RTÉ 1, RTÉ 2, TG4 and TV3.

However, the Commission had reserved the right to set targets and timeframes for access provision on services licensed by the Commission under the Broadcasting Act, 2001. In this context, at its meeting in March of this year, the Board of the Commission considered what obligations, if any, should be placed on six services licensed under the 2001 Act.

The six services considered are as follows:-

1) Setanta Sports Channel Ireland
2) Setanta Sports Channel North America
3) Setanta PPV (pay-per-view)
4) NASN (Ireland & UK)
5) NASN (Europe)
6) City Channel

This document outlines the decisions taken by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland.

2 Decision Making Process

The Commissions decisions have been informed by the following.

The Access Principles and Influencing Factors.

Four Access Principles and a number of Influencing Factors were adopted by the Commission following completion of the consultation process. These are the decision-making criteria used by the Commission to determine the obligations incumbent upon the six services considered. The Access Principles and Influencing Factors are outlined at Appendix 1.

Written submissions provided by the six service providers considered.

All six services considered by the Commission were invited to provide a written submission outlining what, if any, commitments should be placed on their services under the Access Rules. The respondents were asked to present their arguments with reference to the Access Principles and Influencing Factors.

The targets and timeframes currently in place for other services.

The Commission’s decisions were also informed by its application of the Access Principles and Influencing Factors when setting targets and timeframes for the four free-to-air services.

3. Issues pertaining to Access Provision

Two issues pertaining to the provision of access services were considered by the Board of the Commission. They are as follows.

3.1 Type of Access Provision (subtitling, sign language, audio description)

The Access Rules contain commitments in terms of three types of access provision, namely subtitling, sign language and audio description. [1] However, while all four free-to-air TV services are required to provide subtitling; only RTÉ 1 and RTÉ 2 are obliged to provide sign language and audio description. The target for RTÉ 1 and RTÉ 2 had been set in acknowledgement of the public service remit and funding of these stations. The rationale for not requiring TG4 or TV3 to develop audio description and sign language provision at this time was set in acknowledgment of the current technological difficulties associated with providing ‘closed’ signing and ‘closed’ audio description, as well as considerations related to financial and personnel resources, previous experience and expertise.

In this context, the Commission considered whether, as with TG 4 and TV 3, the access services, if any, to be provided by the six services considered should be restricted to the provision of subtitling only.

Outcome

The Commission agreed that similar arguments present themselves when examining the issue of whether the six 2001 Act services under consideration should be required to provide sign language and/or audio description further to the Access Rules.

The technical difficulties still remain in relation to ‘closed’ sign language and ‘closed’ audio description. Matters concerning the relative starting positions of all six services in relation to provision of sign language and audio description are also pertinent since the services do not and have not provided these services to date. Furthermore, all six services under consideration are at a relatively early stage of development.

For these reasons, it has been decided that at this time, no audio description or sign language targets will be set for these six services. This matter will be reviewed as part of the general review of the Access Rules which will take place in 2008. This review will allow the Commission to assess any changes in the broadcast environment which may impact on the provision of all three access services and whether additional services should be required to carry all three access services.

3.2 Levels of Access Provision

In making a determination regarding the targets and timeframes, if any, to be established for the six services considered, the Commission utilised the decision making process set out above. The key component of this process is the application of the Access Principles and Influencing Factors. On this basis, the Commission decided that three of the six services considered should have an obligation to provide subtitling.

The Commission’s decision is based on a number of considerations which have their basis in the Access Principles and the Influencing Factors.

The application of the principle of Access.
The application of the principle of Incremental Progression.
All six services are private broadcasters in receipt of no public funding.
All of the services are at a relatively early stage of development. As such, they do not have any previous experience or current capacity to provide access services.
The services have no current level of access provision.
As the majority of programming on the services considered is live, delayed or repeat live coverage of sporting events, the cost of subtitling is high.
The services have no technical capacity to provide subtitling and this capacity needs to be developed.
The early stage of development of each service coupled with the lack of in-house capacity on all services and the live nature of type of programming broadcast on the majority of services means that the development of subtitling services is beginning at a low threshold.
In the case of services operated by Setanta and NASN, it was the Commission’s opinion that the resources of these companies should be focused on providing access provision for services of greatest relevance to an Irish audience.
In the case of City Channel, taking into consideration its very early stage of development, targets for access provision do not begin until 2007.

Outcomes

The following targets and timeframes have been set by the Commission for the six services considered.

3.2.1 Targets and Timeframe for Setanta Sports Channel Ireland

2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
2%	4%	6%	8%	10%	12%	14%	16%	18%	20%

The targets and timeframes are informed by the following factors:-

The nature of the broadcast provider Setanta Sports Channel Ireland is a service wholly funded through commercial revenue.

The stage of development of the broadcast provider Setanta Sports Channel Ireland is a young broadcaster with no experience in the area of access provision.

The level of current provision

There is currently no subtitling provided by the service.

The type of programme schedule

The majority of the schedule consists of live and repeat live sports programming with some in-house productions. Approximately 50% of programming is repeated and this should contribute to the attainment of the targets, at least in the early years.

The technical capacity and the technical and human resource cost

The service has no in-house technical capacity to provide subtitling. General issues relating to the higher cost of live programming were pertinent here. The service anticipates a progressive increase in live programming as the station develops and will incur additional costs as a result. Therefore, while the level of repeats will facilitate the service reaching the proposed target in the early years, it is likely that the cost will increase as the level of live programming increases and the level of repeat programming decreases.

3.2.2 Targets and Timeframes for Setanta Sports Channel North America

The Commission has decided that Setanta Sports Channel North America should have no requirement at this time to provide subtitling. The service will be asked to examine possible synergies between the services providing programming for this channel. This matter will be reviewed in 2008 as part of the general review of the Access Rules.

This decision is informed by the following factors:-

The nature of the broadcast provider Setanta Sports Channel North America is available on digital only and wholly funded through commercial revenue. The service is not available in the Republic of Ireland.

The stage of development of the broadcast provider

The service is at a very early stage of development and currently has no experience in the provision of access services.

The level of current provision

There is currently no subtitling provided by the service.

The type of programme schedule

The service features predominantly live and repeat live programming. Approximately 50% of programming is repeated.

The technical capacity and technical and human resource cost

The service has no technical capacity to provide subtitling. Issues relating to the costs and capacity associated with subtitling live programming and outlined above concerning Setanta Sports Channel Ireland are also pertinent for this service. There are also technical differences in relation to subtitling/captioning for the European and North American markets and further studies in this regard will be necessary.

3.2.3 Targets and Timeframe for Setanta PPV

The Commission has decided that Setanta PPV should have no requirement at this time to provide subtitling. This matter will be reviewed in 2008 as part of the general review of the Access Rules.

This decision is informed by the following factors:-

The nature of the broadcast provider
Setanta PPV is a pay-per-view based service wholly funded through commercial revenue.
The stage of development of the broadcast provider
This service is at a relatively young stage of development with no experience in the provision of access services.
The level of current provision
There is currently no subtitling provided by this service.
The type of programme schedule
The schedule contains live broadcasts of sporting events. Programming is dependent on the service securing broadcast rights.
The technical capacity and technical human resource cost

The service has no technical capacity at this time to provide subtitling. Issues relating to costs and capacity associated with live subtitling are also pertinent.

3.2.4 Targets and Timeframe for NASN (Ireland & UK)

2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
2%	4%	6%	8%	10%	12%	14%	16%	18%	20%

The targets and timeframe are informed by the following factors:

The nature of the broadcast provider
NASN (Ireland & UK) is a subscription based service available on digital only and wholly funded through commercial revenue.
The stage of development of the broadcast provider
The service is at a relatively young stage of development and has no experience in the provision of access services.
The level of current provision
There is currently no subtitling on the service. Captioning is available as part of the services acquired programming.
The type of programme schedule
The programme schedule is a mix of live and pre-recorded programming. All programming is acquired and there is no home produced programming. 20% of programming is repeated.
The technical capacity and the technical and human resource cost

The service has no current technical capacity to provide subtitling. General issues relating to costs and capacity associated with the provision of live subtitling are relevant for this service. However, as all programming on the service is acquired, the service has access to some captioning from North American broadcasters. While captioning provides less information to the viewer compared to subtitling, the Commission permits the use of available captioning by services in meeting the targets set for subtitling.

3.2.5 Targets and Timeframe for NASN (Europe)

The Commission has decided that NASN (Europe) should have no requirement at this time to provide subtitling. The service will be asked to examine possible synergies between the NASN services. This matter will be reviewed in 2008 as part of the general review of the Access Rules.

This decision is informed by the following factors:-

The nature of the broadcast provider
NASN (Europe) is a subscription based service available on digital only to mainland Europe and wholly funded through commercial revenue.
The stage of development of the broadcast provider
The service is a young broadcaster with no experience in the provision of access services.
The level of current provision
There is currently no subtitling provision on the service.
The type of programme schedule
The programme schedule is a mix of live and pre-recorded programming. All programming is acquired and there is no home produced programming. 20% of programming is repeated.
The technical capacity and human resource cost
The service has no current capacity to provide subtitling. General issues relating to costs and capacity associated with the provision of live subtitling are relevant for this service.

3.2.6 Targets and Timeframes for City Channel

2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
0%	1%	2%	3%	4%	5%	6%	7%	8%	9%

The proposals for City Channel are informed by the following factors:-

The nature of the broadcast provider
City Channel is a subscription based service wholly funded through commercial revenue.
The stage of development of the broadcast provider
This service is at a very early stage of development with no experience in the provision of access services.
The level of current provision
There is current no provision for subtitling on the service.
The type of programme schedule
The schedule is predominantly pre-recorded and acquired programming. The schedule includes one live programme per day. The service has a high level of repeat programming, in the region of 60% and this should contribute to the attainment of the targets.
The technical capacity and technical and human resource cost
The service has no current technical capacity to provide subtitling.

APPENDIX 1

The Access Principles and Influencing Factors are as follows:

Access Principles

Access

A guiding principle for the BCI is that those citizens for whom the Access Rules are designed should have the fullest possible access to the broadcast media and to its capacity to educate, inform and entertain. This principle is evident in the Access Rules in that all indigenous broadcasters come under the jurisdiction of the rules.

Excellence

This principle recognises the fact that the Access Rules are not only concerned with the provision of subtitling, audio description and sign language but also with the standards and consistency which must be used and attained in their delivery, including best practice guidelines in both audio and visual presentation. To this end, the Commission has developed a set of standards and guidelines that broadcasters must attain to ensure a quality service.

Incremental progression

This principle acknowledges that the level of subtitling, audio description and sign language will develop incrementally over a period of time. This will facilitate broadcasters to further develop their capacity and expertise to deliver this service.

The use of a ten-year timeframe in the Access Rules is based on the principle of increasing access provision in incremental stages, allowing the broadcaster to plan for the development and delivery of quality access provision. It acknowledges that there are a number of issues other than funding which need to be addressed in order to increase access provision.

Responsiveness

This principle aims to ensure that the development of access provision (subtitling, sign language and audio description) should be in response to the needs and priorities as expressed by the user groups as well as standards laid down by the BCI, in consultation with the broadcast provider.

These questions are relevant, as the type of programming in the schedule has an influence on the cost, technical facilities, personnel and ability of the broadcaster to provide access services. In most cases, subtitles are purchased separately from programming and are not bought as part of the acquired programme.

Influencing Factors

In drawing up the Access Rules, the BCI also had regard to the following influencing factors.

a. Differentiation between broadcast services

The Access Rules differentiate between broadcasters based on a number of factors. This differentiation is given practical effect through the setting of different targets for each service. The factors are:

i) The nature of the broadcast provider:

Is the broadcasting service a public or private service? Is the broadcaster in receipt of public monies and as a result has greater public service duties? Does the broadcaster have specific aims which might impact on its ability to provide access services?

ii) The stage of development of the broadcast provider:

How long has the broadcaster been in operation? How much experience does the broadcaster have of providing access services? Is there already a level of expertise within the broadcasting service in the provision of access services?

ii) The level of current provision:

What level of subtitling, sign language and audio description does the broadcaster currently provide? What is their starting point?

iii) Type of programming schedule:

Does the broadcast service produce live programming? Does it acquire a lot of programming from other broadcasters? How much home produced programming does the broadcaster provide?

iv) The technical and human resource cost:

What facilities and expertise currently exist within the broadcasting service to provide access services?

v) Technical capacity:

Does the broadcast service have the technical capacity to provide access services? What level and type of technical facilities and expertise would be required?

b. Funding

The Commission has had regard to the likely financial impact of any requirement to comply with targets and timeframes set for the provision of access services. In particular, the Commission examined the type of programming across various schedules, including the number of repeat programmes as this has a bearing on the costs. The Commission has also had regard to the nature of the broadcaster, whether it is a private commercial or publicly funded entity. However, it should be noted that it is difficult to arrive at definitive costs, as in many instances the cost will depend on the scheduling decisions made by broadcasters, the type of programming and the decisions made with regard to what programming they are going to prioritise for subtitling.

APPENDIX 2

Subtitling/Captioning

This is on-screen text that represents what is being said on the screen. It can be open or closed. ‘Open’ subtitling is subtitling that remains on the screen at all times, ‘closed’ subtitling can be added to the picture or taken away as viewers wish, using for example page 888 on teletext.

Captioning and subtitling as terms are sometimes used interchangeably, however, there are differences in the terms. ‘Captioning’ refers to on-screen text that represents what is being said on the screen. However in the case of subtitling there are differences in formatting that are designed to assist the interpretation and understanding of the text and to link it more accurately with the on-screen action. For example, in subtitling, the colour of the text changes to alert the viewer that a different person is speaking in the scene. There are also standards with regards to the font size, number of characters, number of lines of text carried on the screen at one time. Captioning on the other hand does not include this formatting and is a more basic representation of what is being said on-screen.

Sign Language

Irish Sign Language is the indigenous language of the deaf community in Ireland. It is a visual, spatial language with its own syntax and complex grammatical structure. Signing can be presented on screen through the use of a signer as part of the programme content, or the use of a signer (either a real person or avatar) in a box superimposed in the corner of the screen.

Audio Description

Audio Description is in development and in limited use in North America and the UK. Audio description is essentially a commentary that gives a viewer with a visual impairment, a verbal description of what is happening on the screen at any given moment, as an aid to the understanding and enjoyment of the programme. The technique uses a second sound track that gives a description of the scene and the on-screen action.

[1] A brief description of the three types of access provision is attached at Appendix 2.

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