Ofcom has launched a survey for people who use British Sign language (BSL) to tell then what they think about signing on TV and video-on-demand services.
They want to find out how often BSL users watch signed programmes, the types of programmes they watch, and what they think of the quality and availability of signed programmes.
The feedback they receive will be crucial in helping to inform their guidelines on signing for TV channels and on-demand services – including what types of programmes should be prioritised.
We’d like to hear from people who:
- are over 16 and use BSL to communicate;
- live with someone over 16 who uses BSL to communicate; or
- have a child under 16 who uses BSL to communicate.
People with more than one BSL user in their household can complete one survey for each BSL user.
Participants can respond through an online BSL-interpreted survey, or by sending us a video of them signing their response.
The survey is survey until Thursday 1 July. Fill it out by clicking here.
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Fred Trull
May 7, 2021
The Government have been told that there are 80,000 BSL users needing support.
It will be illuminating to see how many respond to this.
Cathy
May 7, 2021
The TV is a wonderful medium that sadly is not open to all of us even with subtitles, but the programmes that they have signed are usually soaps and the odd documentary. Furthermore they are transmitted in the morning or middle of the night when most folk are fast asleep and therefore pressured into copying everything. It would be a great idea if all programmes had signing BUT to have a button on the remote so that if you have no desire for the signing (deaf or not) you have the option of switching it off. This means all programmes can be watched at normal times like everyone else and there would be no need for this survey. Tessa Padden who works in TV has told me that this on/off button for the signing has been requested a few years ago, but they are still no further forward with it, sadly. That demonstrates the progress hearies make for deafies!