The Advantages of Making Audio and Video Media Accessible

[Approximate Reading Time : 4 mins]

Accessibility is becoming more important, as there are around 2.2 billion people that are visually impaired. There are also about 466 million people who experience hearing loss around the world. It’s up to businesses, individuals and organizations to make sure that content is more accessible to people with disabilities. There are several advantages to creating more accessible content.

• Make More Accessible Content

If you’ve ever read subtitles or transcript for a video, speech or other audio, you’ve read accessible content. Audiobooks are also ideal for people who cannot see, which makes it an audio description. When you provide accessible versions of audio or visual content, you can provide more people with your content, which may help put you above the competition.

• Stay Compliant With the Law

Another advantage of making content more accessible is that you are following the law. There have been issues where people with hearing and visual impairments could not access certain materials because of a disability, and companies weren’t doing anything to help them.

To combat this, laws were put into place regarding audio and video content. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission regulates methods of communication. In 2017, the laws regulating the use of communication materials were updated to directly incorporate captioning, audio and transcript descriptions to increase accessibility.

• Help a Wide Audience

People with disabilities aren’t the only ones who use subtitles, audio or transcripts. Studies have shown that students often use closed captioning to help them pay attention and focus, even if they can hear perfectly fine. Other people that do not have an auditory impairment but still prefer to read transcripts rather than watch videos, so an audio description comes in handy.

In this sense, the audience who needs and expects access to content in different ways is larger than the disabled community. You are creating a way for people with and without disabilities to access content, which can make your business or organization the one people will turn to for all their content needs.

Making Your Content Accessible

If you need to make your content accessible for people and comply with legal regulations, now is the perfect time to start. Amnet is your solution for accessibility services, including closed captioning, audio descriptions and transcriptions. You can update your content to include methods that serve the needs and interests of a wide audience, improving your business while helping others.

Sources:
1. https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/overview-of-the-final-rule
2. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss
3. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blindness-and-visual-impairment