Audio description was first broadcast on British television in 1994, and by 2009 most of the main channels were required to provide it on 10% of their programs. However, research commissioned by Ofcom in that year showed that awareness of it among the general public was low. Following a public awareness campaign initiated by Ofcom and carried out by broadcasters, awareness rose to 37%.
The new research, conducted by Marketing Sciences Limited, found that 60% of adults in the UK were aware of audio description, but this rose to 67% when they were prompted by a clip of it. Even more encouraging for advocates of audio description, 15% had told others about the service (most often a relative). Awareness is higher among younger people – 73% among 23-34 year olds, compared to 42% for those over 75.
The full research report can be downloaded from the ‘Research into the awareness of Audio Description’ page on Ofcom’s website.
A trial of audio description was carried out on ABC1 last year, but there was no funding for a regular service in this year’s federal budget.
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