Deaf Aotearoa welcomes captioning increase

Deaf Aotearoa are welcoming the announcement of increased captioning by Able, New Zealand’s independent provider of accessible television, as a move toward a more accessible and inclusive media industry.

From February 2016, Prime TV’s Z On Air-funded shows and some international prime time content will be captioned. Sky TV has helped make this possible by investing in the equipment necessary to broadcast captions.

“More captioned TV options allow people who use captions more choice for information and entertainment sources,” says Deaf Aotearoa President Robert Hewison. “While we still have a long way to go before we reach the high levels of captioning that are standard overseas, this latest development shows we’re making real headway, shows the potential for improving accessibility even more.”

Deaf Aotearoa is represented on the Captioning Working Group, which advocates for greatly increased captioning on New Zealand television.

For more information on Deaf Aotearoa’s work, visit www.deaf.org.nz

ENDS

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