Captioning to be extended to Prime Television

Broadcasting Minister Amy Adams says the extension of captioning to Prime Television will ensure more content availability for deaf and hard of hearing people.

From early next year, service providers Sky and Able will make captioning available on Prime Television with a focus on local, NZ on Air funded and prime time content.

“It’s great to see content providers taking the lead. Extending captioning services to Prime will greatly assist deaf and hard of hearing New Zealanders to access the television content that most of us take for granted,” says Ms Adams.

After a funding boost this year, NZ on Air now funds Able to the tune of $2.8 million a year. This funds 265 captioned hours and 35 hours of audio description per week. 100 per cent of primetime content on TVNZ channels is now captioned.

“This shows NZ On Air’s real commitment to better accessibility for those who need it,” says Ms Adams.

“The addition of Prime to the list of free-to-air services means more shows important to a New Zealand audience will be captioned, increasing the choice of channel and content for hearing-impaired viewers.”

Further details of the Prime programmes and content to be captioned will be announced closer to the time.