TECHNOLOGY
sign language interpreting services aimed at deaf people and people with a hearing impairment. This issue is a hot topic, as a few months ago -November 2018- the European Parliament and the EU Council passed a new version of the “Audiovisual Media Services Directive� [1] that delves on the obligations of making audiovisual content available. This AVMSD (Audiovisual Media Services Directive). The AVSMD Directive cannot directly impose accessibility services but invites all EU Member States to adopt the necessary accessibility measures in their respective territories. The directive makes express mention of hearing or visually impaired people and, amongst the services identified, the first one being mentioned is precisely sign language. As for the Member States, there are laws in place imposing on TV operators interpreting services quotas for sign language. TV sign language has a distinct feature not found in any other services such as subtitling or audio-description: while the latter two can be provided on a closed mode (i.e. only activated if/when so decided by users), sign language has been traditionally provided on an open-service basis (i.e. available for all spectators, whether they require it or not). In view of the fact that the sign language interpreter can be a nuisance for users not requiring the service or not being acquainted with deaf people, sign language has been relegated to time slots featuring lower TV consumption, which article [2] of EBU terms as 'unsocial scheduling'.
82 SEPTEMBER ‘19