NZ increases funding for captioning and audio description

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Thursday, 21 May 2015 14:19pm

NZ On Air, the New Zealand Government’s broadcast funding agency, has announced that it will increase its funding for captioning and audio description by NZ$400,000 ($AUD 371,207).

NZ On Air: Irirangi Te Motu logo

NZ On Air pays for all the captioning and (since 2011) audio description on New Zealand’s free-to-air channels. Funding for the 2014-2015 financial year was NZ$2.4 million ($AUD2.27 million), which paid for full captioning of TVNZ primetime programs, and 31 hours of audio description per week. The funding is paid to Able, a charitable trust which produces the captioning and audio description.

New Zealand’s Disability Issues Minister, Nicky Wagner, welcomed the decision, saying, “Promoting access to mainstream services in the community is a priority area in the Government’s Disability Action Plan.”

For more information, see the article about the funding increase on the New Zealand Government’s Beehive website.

You may also like:

  • More on TV & Video accessibility, including captions and audio description on TV, as well as reviews and how-to guides
  • The ADonTV website, covering the progress of getting audio description on Australian television
  • Everything you need to know about catch-up TV accessibility in Australia and abroad
  • Reviews and how to guides for setting up captions on TV

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