International platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+ fare better on content accessibility. Image for representation purpose only.
Despite a boom in over-the-top (OTT) streaming services in India – a report by Media Partners Asia released this month estimates that one major platform is closing in on 20 million paying subscribers – access to content remains a The big difference is for blind and hearing impaired viewers. However, regulations for streaming in India explicitly recommend that streaming services strive to make their content accessible.
The IT Rules, 2021 cover a vast swath of the internet, from regulating social media intermediaries, to laying down a framework to discourage platforms that offer streaming services to misinform users. -level grievance framework needs to be introduced. Resolve user complaints on web series and movies. One aspect of IT regulations that has not received much attention (or compliance) is their pitch for accessibility for persons with disabilities.
Read this also | OTT Platforms Facing Pressure Over Content Despite Court Stay
The last provision of the code of conduct that OTT platforms such as Netflix, Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video have to adhere to is “to make reasonable efforts to improve the accessibility of online curated content disseminated by it for persons with disabilities.” Implementation of appropriate accessible services. These are likely references to two major technologies: closed captioning and audio description.
closed captioning
Closed captioning, as opposed to regular subtitles, describes the sound and background music score in a movie or TV show, an important resource for people who are deaf and hard of hearing. Audio description tracks describe what is happening on the screen for blind and visually impaired viewers.
Why are people unhappy with OTT streaming apps?
While IT rules and codes of conduct push for more widespread adoption of these technologies, streaming services – especially those operated by Indian firms – have largely not done so. The clearest example is the lack of closed captioning on JioCinema on the Indian Premier League, the most streamed sporting tournament in the world online. Disney Star, which owns the television rights, announced in March that they would release a subtitled feed of all matches in the tournament, but JioCinema has not entered into any such agreement. (Jio spokesperson did not respond to queries.) Hindu,
International platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+ fare better on content accessibility. Following an agreement with the American Council of the Blind (ACB) in 2016, Netflix began adding an audio description track to all of its original content globally, including India. Whether it is a series in Marathi or a film in Tamil, as long as they are Netflix originals, these titles now have a separate audio description feed for visually impaired or blind viewers, as well as closed captioning in their original language.
access interval
This is not the case with licensed content, even on platforms that have a good track record of accessibility. While Netflix has an audio description feed for many Hollywood films—American studios sometimes create such a feed in-house, and then provide it to the streaming platform upon request—those released theatrically in India Most films that are not produced or financed by one. The streaming platform does not have an audio description feed.
Even when such a feed is created, it doesn’t always make it to the small screen. For example, Rajinikanth-starrer Kabali, which had an audio description track created for a theatrical screening by a radio station, is not being streamed on Amazon Prime Video as an alternative to that track.
The situation is similar for closed captioning in the same language – outside of original movies and series launched by international platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, there is no same-language audio description and closed captioning for most licensed content on Indian streaming platforms. Not there. , Indian-established streaming services listed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting largely do not have closed captioning in the same language or audio description for any content, let alone original.
The gap could soon sting many potential viewers as streaming is booming in India – the World Health Organization estimates that there are 63 million deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) people in India, and nearly 40 million who are visually impaired. Deterioration is predicted or blindness.
‘additional expenses’
Padmini Ray Murray, founder and director of Design Beku, a Karnataka-based collective that focuses on working with communities on technology access issues, said even closed titles may not be a silver bullet. “It is true that people with visual impairments can use closed captioning and subtitles,” said Dr. Murray. “But the problem is that many of them would prefer sign language, because sign language itself is a language with nuances that are lost when subtitles are just a transcription of what’s happening on the screen.”
Of course, streaming services don’t currently offer an alternative. “In the digital product world, there is a reluctance to focus more on accessibility because it requires additional expense,” said Dr. Murray, pointing to firms’ reluctance to invest in accessibility. While there were accessibility standards for webpages, Dr. Murray pointed out, similar standards for applications have lagged behind.
The code of conduct for IT rules says that OTT players should provide access “to the extent possible”. “There is no way to enforce [this provision]because it has no legal implications,” Dr. Murray said. “It largely depends on the good faith of the people who make these products.”