NZ On Air Funds Teletext Captioning

NZ On Air has allocated nearly $1.4m for Teletext captioning of television programmes for Deaf and hearing impaired viewers, according to NZ On Air Chief Executive, Jo Tyndall.

“The subtitles are a critical service for many people and there is growing demand for a greater range of captioned programmes, including from people learning English as a second language, “ said Ms Tyndall.

The Deaf Association of New Zealand welcomes the announcement and sees the funding as a positive step towards increased teletext services for deaf and hearing impaired viewers, according to its Chief Executive, Jennifer Brain.

“Teletext services open up a whole new world that would otherwise be inaccessible to hearing impaired individuals. Ideally we would like to see all programmes carry teletext services so the same choices are available for everyone regardless of their hearing ability,” said Ms Brain.

“Imagine how a hearing person would feel turning on the television to find there was no sound. How long could they put up with it?,” she said.

NZ On Air has allocated $1,364,633 to TVNZ Captioning for 65 hours of captioned programmes per week screened by TV One, TV2 and TV3.

For further information:
Jo Tyndall
Chief Executive
NZ On Air
Tel: (04) 382 9524
The media release is available on the Internet, at http://www.nzonair.govt.nz

Teletext 2001 $1,364,633
65 hours captioning per week
Broadcaster: TV One/TV2/TV3

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