Ofcom is consulting on a new Accessibility Code that will set out legal accessibility requirements for the UK’s most-used streaming services. The move marks a major step forward in ensuring disabled audiences can fully enjoy on-demand television and film content.
The changes come following the introduction of the Media Act 2024, which created new obligations for larger on-demand services — known as “Tier 1 Services” — to improve accessibility for disabled viewers. These requirements include quotas for subtitles, audio description and signed content, collectively known as “access services”, alongside new rules on transparency, reporting and quality standards.
For many disabled viewers, access services are not an optional extra. Subtitles support Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences, audio description enables blind and partially sighted viewers to follow visual content, and signing provides vital access for British Sign Language users. Yet while traditional broadcasters have long been legally required to provide these features, streaming services have until now operated without equivalent regulation.
As viewing habits continue to shift away from traditional broadcast television and towards streaming platforms, campaigners have increasingly warned that disabled audiences risk being left behind.
What the draft Accessibility Code proposes
Ofcom has now published its draft Accessibility Code for consultation, setting out how it expects major streaming platforms to meet their new responsibilities.
Under the proposed rules, services would need to:
- subtitle at least 80% of their catalogue
- provide audio description on 10%
- offer signing on 5% of the content.
Importantly, poor-quality access features would not count towards these quotas, placing greater emphasis on usability and accuracy rather than simply meeting targets on paper.
The Code also outlines how streaming services should communicate accessibility information to viewers, ensuring users can easily identify which programmes include subtitles, audio description or signing before they begin watching. Providers would also be expected to publish annual reports explaining how they are meeting their obligations and assessing the quality and usability of their access services.
Read: The Social Cost Of Inaccessible Content: Why Accessible Media Services Matter
Many streaming services already provide strong accessibility
Several leading streaming services — including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+ and HBO Max — already provide accessibility features across much of their original programming, and in many cases across substantial parts of their wider catalogues.
Some platforms have made significant progress voluntarily in recent years, recognising both the importance of accessibility and the expectations of disabled audiences.
However, campaigners have long argued that voluntary action alone does not guarantee equal access across the industry. Ofcom says the new Accessibility Code is intended to create a “level playing field”, ensuring all major services meet minimum standards and that disabled audiences receive more consistent access regardless of which platform they use.
Under the Media Act, the ‘Tier 1’ services that will have to follow these Codes are defined by the Government as those with more than 500,000 UK users. Services used by ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, S4C and STV to stream PSB content will also come under Tier 1 regulation.
BBC iPlayer is not a Tier 1 service. It is already, and will continue to be, regulated under the Broadcasting Code. However, Ofcom is also proposing to apply the new Tier 1 Accessibility Code to relevant BBC UK public on demand services.
Read: Accessibility On Channel 4: How Accessible Was The 2026 Winter Paralympics Coverage?
It’s not just about the quantity of access services
The consultation also raises important questions around quality. For years, disabled viewers have highlighted issues such as inaccurate subtitles, poorly timed captions, incomplete audio description tracks and inaccessible user interfaces. By making clear that low-quality access services will not count towards quotas, Ofcom is signalling that accessibility must be meaningful and usable, rather than simply a box-ticking exercise.
However, some disability campaigners may argue that the consultation does not go far enough in addressing the accessibility of streaming platforms themselves.
While the proposed Code focuses heavily on access services such as subtitles, audio description and signing, there appears to be far less emphasis on whether disabled users can independently navigate streaming apps and devices in the first place.
For blind and partially sighted users in particular, accessible navigation remains a major barrier across many smart TVs, streaming sticks and set-top boxes. Features such as screen reader compatibility, colour contrasts and font sizes can vary significantly between platforms and devices, with some services still difficult – or in some cases impossible — to use independently.
Accessibility organisations have long argued that true accessibility must extend beyond content alone and include the entire user experience, from browsing catalogues and searching for programmes to enabling subtitles or audio description settings.
The consultation, therefore, presents an important opportunity for disabled audiences to push for stronger consideration of interface accessibility and compatibility with assistive technology, ensuring streaming services are genuinely accessible from start to finish.
Read: How Accessible Is Channel 4 Stream For Blind And Visually Impaired People?
Have your say on the proposed Accessibility Code
The consultation is now open, allowing disabled people, accessibility organisations, streaming providers and the wider public to shape the final Code before it is introduced.
Ofcom is particularly seeking views on:
- Quota implementation – Whether Ofcom’s proposed accessibility quotas, including interim targets and the decision not to exclude certain programmes, are appropriate.
- BBC on-demand services – Whether the proposed accessibility requirements for BBC UK Public On Demand Programme Services are suitable.
- Quality standards – Whether subtitles, audio description and signing used to meet quotas should be required to meet minimum quality standards.
- Exemptions – Whether exemptions based on audience benefit, technical difficulty or cost are reasonable and appropriate.
- Alternative requirements – Whether Ofcom’s proposed approach to allowing alternative accessibility arrangements is appropriate.
- Exemption processes – Whether the proposed process for requesting exemptions or alternative arrangements is fair and workable.
- Promoting accessibility features – Whether streaming services should do enough to inform viewers about the availability of subtitles, signing and audio description.
- Annual reporting – Whether Tier 1 providers should report annually on their accessibility performance and compliance.
- Guidance for providers – Whether Ofcom’s proposed guidance for streaming providers is clear and appropriate.
- Cost modelling – Whether Ofcom’s estimates and assumptions around the costs of implementing the new requirements are accurate and proportionate.
- Impact assessments – Whether Ofcom’s assessment of the wider impact of the proposals, including equality and Welsh language impacts, is appropriate.
- Other comments – Whether respondents have any additional comments, concerns or suggestions about the proposed Accessibility Code.
This consultation represents an important opportunity for disabled viewers to share their lived experiences of streaming accessibility — including both examples of good practice and the barriers that still exist. Feedback from audiences will help determine how ambitious and effective the final rules become.
How to respond
Please submit responses to this consultation using the consultation response form and email the document to Tier1accessibility@ofcom.org.uk.
Ofcom also welcomes responses in a British Sign Language video. To respond in BSL:
- send a recording of you signing your response. This should be no longer than five minutes. Suitable file formats are DVDs, WMV or QuickTime files; or
- upload a video of you signing your response directly to YouTube (or another hosting site) and send the link.
The consultation is open until 5pm on 7th August 2026. The draft Accessibility Code and consultation details are available on Ofcom’s website.
As streaming increasingly becomes the primary way people watch television and film, accessibility can no longer be treated as an afterthought. For millions of disabled viewers, these proposals could help ensure that entertainment, news and cultural moments are available to everyone on equal terms.