Accessibility Report 2024
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – and the subsequent EU Directive on Audiovisual Media Services – introduced ‘accessibility’ as one of its foundational principles. Accessibility is a prerequisite for people with disabilities to be able to live independently, participate equally in society and exercise their rights.
Yet, in relation to media services, accessibility does not refer only to how the persons concerned are depicted. Rather, the issue here is to ensure that media are discoverable, accessible and usable by people with disabilities in a general and typical way, without undue difficulty or the aid of another person. Guaranteeing accessibility of audiovisual content is a key requirement in the context of the obligations entered into by parties to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Accordingly, media service providers should “actively seek to make content accessible to persons with disabilities, in particular with a visual or hearing impairment”. Accessible pathways to content should also be created for people with other disabilities such as learning difficulties. Accessibility requirements should be met through a progressive and continuous process, while taking into account the practical and unavoidable constraints that could prevent full accessibility, such as in the case of broadcasts of live programmes or events.