August 23, 2024
Submission to:
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission
RE: Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2024-138
Submission From:
Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians / l’Alliance pour l’Égalité des Personnes Aveugles du Canada (AEBC)
BACKGROUND
1. The AEBC is a national charitable organization of primarily blind, deafblind and partially sighted members. We are committed to increasing awareness of our rights, to ensure that we can participate equally in all aspects of Canadian society. The AEBC is a leader in leveling the playing field for members of our community. Since 1992, the AEBC has participated in working groups and committees at the national, provincial and municipal levels. The AEBC advocates for accessibility, equality and the elimination of barriers in the manner in which organizations and businesses deliver products, programs and services across Canada. AEBC members have made submissions in connection with the Accessible Canada Act, the Online Streaming Act, and other legislation.
2. Over the last decade, movies and television shows have added more and more visual elements and special effects. While these may enhance the enjoyment for sighted viewers, they can make it next to impossible for a blind person to follow the show’s plot. Described video (DV) is a means to inform individuals who are blind or who have low vision about visual content and is essential for full enjoyment. News programs, commercials, and other instances where information is either delivered only visually or without sufficient verbal explanation make audio description (AD) even more important. We are honoured to assist in the establishment of a regulatory policy regarding described video and audio description of programs provided by traditional and online streaming undertakings, in order to identify, remove and prevent barriers to programming access for persons who are blind or partially sighted.
THE LEGAL BASIS FOR FULL ACCESSIBILITY
3. Canada protects the legal rights of persons who are blind, partially sighted, deafblind and otherwise disabled. These instruments include the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA), the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional protocol, to which Canada is a signatory. The enactment of the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) entrenched our rights by requiring entities under federal jurisdiction, including the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors, to consult on/develop accessibility plans/feedback processes to remove existing barriers and prevent the introduction of new barriers.
CURRENT LANDSCAPE
4. At present, the CRTC only requires the broadcasting industry to provide DV during prime-time broadcasting hours from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m., yet Closed Captioning is provided at the rate of 90% of all programming aired via television. All programming should include DV, including live sports, news, game shows, reality shows, etc. In the realm of live sports, the CBC’s live coverage of the Olympics/Paralympics has amply demonstrated that providing live DV of sporting events is very feasible. CBC offered DV on both its television and streaming service (CBC Gem). During a consultation with representatives from Bell Media, Rogers and Corus Entertainment, industry reps indicated that it was not possible to provide DV for game shows as the content would be too difficult to describe. However, recently, we have noticed that the program Family Feud Canada is being aired on CBC TV with DV. Other game shows, such as Password, The Weakest Link, Celebrity Family Feud, The Battle Of The Generations, and Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune, are also being distributed with described video. At present, the industry demonstrates little effort in considering the inclusion of DV in variety programming. While we acknowledge there may be instances within a variety program where DV may not be appropriate, such as when an individual is singing a song, there is ample opportunity to include DV when the show includes dance routines, acrobatics, or instrumental performances. The majority of these shows are pre-recorded, thereby giving the producers ample opportunity to include DV. Given all of the above, we believe that exemptions to the provision of DV on any type of program are no longer warranted, and that the existing exemptions to the full provision of DV should not be maintained when considering DV on the other platforms such as the internet and service-specific apps.
NEWS AND OTHER PROGRAMMING
5. Canadians rely heavily on news, weather, and scrolling information such as stock quotations and sports scores. Despite current requirements, blind viewers are not given access to this information, even though audio description would not interfere with the regular broadcast in any way as it is distributed through the Secondary Audio Program (SAP) channel.
ADVERTISING
6. The CRTC has previously issued requirements concerning aspects of advertising, in particular the number of advertising minutes per broadcast hour and particulars of advertisements aimed at children. Thus, the AEBC believes the CRTC already has the authority to regulate advertising. Some over-the-air advertisements contain almost no dialogue, thereby making it impossible for a blind person to know what product is even being advertised. We assume advertisers wish to reach all customers and we believe the CRTC can further regulate advertisers such that messages will include sufficient verbal content so that blind viewers can discern what is being advertised. Some ads conclude with "to order, call the number on your screen," or “contact us at,” and yet that pertinent information is only shown on the screen. The AEBC believes that the CRTC has full authority to further regulate advertisers and require them to provide the entire text of the ad, either verbally or via audio description.
7. As noted, there is a good possibility that the U.S. requirements for DV/AD are likely to increase substantially. Therefore, the CRTC must be willing to take advantage of the increased availability of described programming and ensure that it is made available in Canada. Since much of our programming comes from the United States, it is important that any increase in the availability of programming is passed on to the streaming services. In fact, whenever content has a described video track, that track must be made available regardless of the method of distribution.
BARRIERS TO PROVISION OF DESCRIBED VIDEO AND AUDIO DESCRIPTION
8. Regardless of the eventual method of distribution, described video creates its own barriers, if viewed as a post-production add-on. In this scenario, the verbal description must first be written and then made to fit into quiet spaces of the existing soundtrack of the program being described. The shorter the program, the fewer the actual spaces where the new track can fit. There is the issue of timing—was the addition of described video considered when the production schedule was created? There is also the technical issue—does the platform support an alternate audio channel where the described video can be distributed?
9. If the requirement of described video is considered from the beginning of the program’s production, there are several solutions which can be employed. First of all, the described video script can be written along with the program’s main script, and therefore the spaces can be built in for the eventual description track. A more modern solution would integrate the description into the script, so that the main dialogue would include information about the action, negating the requirement for an additional track. As for the technology, apps such as Disney and Crave have conquered the extra audio channel issue, so there is already proof that distributing a separate audio channel is possible on a mobile device.
PROVISION OF DESCRIBED VIDEO AND AUDIO DESCRIPTION ON ONLINE STREAMING UNDERTAKINGS
10. At present, online streaming undertakings have no specific requirements to make any of their programs or movies available with described video. Too often, a program that is provided with DV when aired on traditional television does not maintain the DV track when offered via the related streaming service. Already, Netflix, Amazon, CBC Gem and Crave provide DV on a growing range of their programs. Apple Tv Plus already provides 100% of their programming with described video. Thus, there is no reason for the CRTC not to require all streaming services to provide DV. Streaming service providers should be required to have all of their new programming include DV within one year of the effective date of the policy. Other content that is less than 10 years old should be described within two years, and older content described within three years of the policy’s effective date.
11. We are not aware how much audio description is missing from information programming of online streaming undertakings. It would probably be much less than that required, and missing, on traditional television and, therefore, should be easier to increase. We believe that, within one year from the date the policy takes effect, 100% of information programming should either be accessible in itself or be supported by audio description.
12. In our experience, described video or audio description availability is included in the list of options offered for each specific program, along with that of subtitles or other languages, on services offered by online streaming undertakings. Some of these undertakings offer the ability to search for this programming, but most of the time one doesn’t know what is available until a program is chosen. Searching for described programming should always be possible. Abbreviations of accessibility options, such as CC and DV, should be included as part of the title of every program.
13. All online streaming undertakings doing business in and broadcasting in Canada should be bound by this policy.
ON-DEMAND SERVICES
14. Since most, if not all, on-demand programming was originally distributed on another platform, there is no reason why the provision of described video should not be maintained. As for the pay-per-view offerings, these should also be required to be provided with described video. We believe that all on-demand services be required to have all of their new programming include DV within one year of the effective date of the policy. Other content that is less than 10 years old should be updated with described video within two years, and older content described within three years of the policy’s effective date.
15. We believe that, within one year from the date the policy takes effect, 100% of information programming should either be accessible in itself or be supported by audio description.
TRADITIONAL TELEVISION
16. Although major changes to this method of distribution are out of scope for this proceeding, AEBC hopes that our suggestions regarding the other platforms may one day serve as the basis for a better policy regarding described video and audio description on traditional television. As for the current exception regarding programs received from the U.S. without described video less than 24 hours before broadcast time, the number of these has been steadily decreasing and therefore we believe no exceptions should be allowed to continue.
QUALITY STANDARDS FOR DESCRIBED VIDEO AND AUDIO DESCRIPTION
17. AEBC hopes that more production companies will take on the task of describing the programming they create. Therefore, they would want the quality of the description to equal that of the program being described. With the increasing presence of artificial intelligence in the world today, we see it becoming another tool in the described video and audio description toolkits, and therefore quality standards will be easier to attain and evaluate. The CRTC and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters should be responsible for determining the standards. Broadcasting undertakings should be required to report on the quality and quantity of described video and audio description every six months. Qualitative information should be informed by any complaints and/or compliments received.
ADDRESSING COMPLAINTS
18. Since the CRTC is already handling the complaints concerning DV/Ad on traditional television services, it makes sense that they also deal with those regarding the online streaming undertakings. Therefore, each of them must be required to set up a process for handling complaints, including specific timelines and dedicated personnel. Their individual feedback processes should also be standardized.
CONSULTATION WITH BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED COMMUNITIES
19. Some traditional broadcasters have been consulting blind and partially sighted Canadians for years. With the commencement of legislative requirements for online streaming undertakings, it is logical that they should also begin such consultations. The CRTC should mandate that each online streaming undertaking establish an accessibility advisory committee, which would monitor the DV/AD landscape as well as the overall accessibility of the service. This advisory committee could also receive and respond to customer feedback regarding the above.
REGULATING THE INTERNET
20. The Accessible Canada Act requires that federally regulated entities, which include all broadcasters, streaming services, and social media services must ensure that their websites are fully accessible, usable and conform to the provisions of the most recent version of the WCAG standard. In the past, the CRTC has maintained that it does not have jurisdiction to regulate the internet. It is our opinion, along with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, that the CRTC in fact already has this authority. Based on past experience, we are concerned that the CRTC cannot, with its present resources, effectively monitor the internet to ensure its compliance under this Act and the Accessible Canada Act. We believe the Government of Canada should provide the CRTC with the resources required to monitor and enforce the internet.
21. It is imperative that the apps and websites supporting online streaming undertakings provide an accessible framework with a consistent interface for usability including access to settings such as the ability to turn described video and audio description on and off. Currently, there is no consistency within the industry.
CONCLUSION
We hope that there will come a day when described video and audio description will be as prevalent as closed captioning is today. We think that the above hope is feasible given existing and constantly developing technology. We trust that the CRTC will take the necessary steps so that blind and partially sighted Canadians can fully enjoy the content provided by online streaming undertakings.
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Featured Image Alt Text: Photo of a man sitting in front of a TV.
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