The UK charity Action on Hearing Loss is calling on producers of television news programmes to ensure that timely and accurate subtitles are available for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing, following a survey by the charity which showed 46% of respondents experienced problems with television news subtitling.
The charity used data gathered from 580 survey responses to reveal the problems experienced by viewers who rely on television subtitles. 62% of respondents who experience problems with subtitles complained of delays between speech and subtitles, 45% about the poor accuracy of subtitles and 36% said the absence of subtitles is a problem. Almost half of respondents (46%) said they experienced problems with subtitles on news programmes, followed by entertainment (18%) and drama programmes (16%).
Chief Executive of Action on Hearing Loss, Paul Breckell, says: “It is very disappointing that viewers who rely on subtitles are being deprived of the right to access important news about the country or their community because subtitles are not available, accurate or appearing at the right time on screen. Many deaf people end up with an experience like playing the missing words round of Have I Got News for You? as they need to guess what the subtitles should have said.
“News programmes use live subtitling which is often unnecessary and subject to both a high volume of errors and time lags between the subtitles and live pictures. We urge television news producers to use more pre-recorded synchronised subtitles which would bring better accuracy and a substantially improved service for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing.”
Action on Hearing Loss has passed the survey results to Ofcom, which is currently addressing the problems that contribute to poor quality subtitling.
The charity is urging people to contact television channels directly when they experience problems with programme subtitles. For more information, visit www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/tvaccess
Further reading on live subtitles:
BBC Ouch: Charlie’s subtitle diary: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/features/charlies-subtitle-diary.shtml
The Guardian: The pigs that love to eat, er, willies: http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2011/jan/16/pigs-love-to-eat-willies
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Angie Aspinall
December 13, 2012
I wonder if the other 64% didn’t record problems with subtitles on news programmes because they don’t watch them. I would expect 100% of viewers relying on subtitles of news programmes to have difficulties. Channel 4 news and coverage of the Paralympics were terrible when I tried to use them. I would welcome better subtitling on news programmes and comedy quiz shows and live stand up comedy shows.
Georgie
December 13, 2012
I agree with Angie, I wind up so frustrated with the subtitles on all live programmes. The X Factor was awful to watch, BBC news is so incorrect it’s often funny and punchlines are ruined on many comedy shows. I think what is really difficult is viewing programmes with subtitles at the same time as a hearing person because it often ruins things for them when they’re not in sync. They dominate the screen too, trying to watch Masterchef is a nightmare because the subtitles cover the food up!
Lana Senchal
December 13, 2012
Pity some Deaf people don’t realise that other countries offer so little TV subtitles – mostly old films and in the evenings only – for ex. Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France
Angie Aspinall
December 13, 2012
Hi Lana – Perhaps international lobbying is in order… All countries should be aiming for a high standard in this regard. Some British programmes have good subtitiling but, as Georgie said, many make it difficult – if not almost impossible – to watch/enjoy the show.
Robert Mandara
December 14, 2012
I agree with Lana and Angie. Far from perfect though it is, the UK is a dream for subtitles compared to the rest of the world. Here in Finland, all foreign (mainly English/US) programmes get Finnish subtitles (rather than dubbing) but Finnish programmes don’t get them. Meanwhile, I can see some BBC, Discovery and Sky channels by cable/satellite but none of them have subtitles even though the same programmes had subtitles when first shown in the UK. It’s not technically impossible to provide subtitles but there’s simply no-one forcing the TV companies to do what’s right. The BBC surely have the muscle to dictate that their programmes may only be shown with subtitles, everywhere in the world.
If the Limping Chicken has two wings, I’d like to think that one of them is militant. Then we could do a bit of international lobbying. 🙂 Unfortunately Action on hearing loss is focused strictly on the UK and no organisation appears to be working on the global perspective.
Lana Senchal
December 17, 2012
Switzerland has THREE languages and it is costly to have English to translate into German, French and Italian
Ian Noon
December 17, 2012
I get annoyed by rubbish subtitles on the news… but I get doubly annoyed by:
1) Pre-recorded programmes with live subtitles
2) BBC news online showing video clips without subtitles
Be great if Ofcom could look at this also
Chris Tolmie
January 3, 2013
The subtitle issue can be really frustrating (though I often find the incorrect words entertaining!).
The issue is not just for deaf audiences though. Many TVs are live streamed in public places with the audio turned down. Examples include Airports where people are waiting for their flights, shopping malls etc. Even in the noisy BBC Broadcasting house coffee area the TV was not showing subtitles (yet the system was in place to do so), and when I pointed this out to the staff, they looked straight into the problem.
There is a comment above about translating into three languages for Switzerland. Well, once translated those same language subtitle files (“srt”) could be used in Belgium, France, parts of Africa, Germany, Italy . . . . .
To be fair, the Beeb and others do try, I have met some of their people and their hearts are in the right place. Subtitling can be a complex technical problem. We just need to keep, politely, pushing. Deaf people should not be excluded from TV entertainment, education and culture.
Chris