How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets

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1 How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets Why Subtitling and Closed Captioning Are Critical to Revenue and Audience Growth This whitepaper was published on September 26, 2017.

2 2 SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets Mobile Online Traffic by 2021: 70% VIDEO As video consumption reaches new heights - crossing global markets and appealing to more consumers than ever before - video producers must invest in subtitling to reach larger audiences. Video has become one of the most dominant forms of online media. According to emarketer, in the U.S., adults will spend an average of 1 hour and 16 minutes a day watching online video in 2017 while young consumers, viewers between the ages of 13 and 24, will spend roughly 20 hours a week watching online video. The use of mobile devices is a primary driving force behind this boom in video consumption. In fact, according to a report by telecom company Ericsson, video will account for 70% of mobile online traffic by And though mobile video is booming, video watching transcends any single platform, as consumers up their viewing experience on smartphones, tablets, televisions, and desktops. Given video s widespread popularity among consumers, it is no surprise that content-driven businesses are churning out video content. K-12 and higher education institutions increasingly use video to educate students; media companies are increasing their investments in video production; and, streaming services are creating popular new outlets, television programs and movies. Despite these trends indicating the growing presence of video in consumers lives, many video creators are missing out on a valuable opportunity to grow audiences and revenue by overlooking a critical step in the production process: subtitling.

SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets 3 Subtitles are time-synchronized text that are displayed in a video to represent spoken dialog.

3 SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets 3 Subtitles are time-synchronized text that are displayed in a video to represent spoken dialog. Subtitles can be translated into different languages or shown in the same language as the audio. Closed captioning, on the other hand, includes text of spoken dialog as well as descriptions of non-spoken sounds, like thunder or a door opening. This is particularly valuable for viewers that are deaf or hearing impaired. This report will explore why subtitling and closed captioning are an integral part of video production and how it can help video creators reach international audiences, viewers with hearing impairments, and a growing subset of consumers who simply prefer to use subtitles while watching video. This report will also explain how video creators can implement subtitles and closed captioning with SPi Global s technology solutions. SPi Global offers a number of services to make video content more accessible. The company s primary subtitling services include translation, closed captioning, scripting/continuity lists, audio video description, metadata localization, and audio and video encoding.

4 SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets Why Subtitling and Closed Captioning Are Critical to Revenue and Audience Growth Subtitling and closed captioning are not new to

4 4 SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets Why Subtitling and Closed Captioning Are Critical to Revenue and Audience Growth Subtitling and closed captioning are not new to video, but there are major trends that are making it more important than ever before. Those trends indicate increased demand for subtitled video in foreign markets; emerging legislation that require public institutions to provide accessible digital video; and the growing popularity of subtitles among non-hearing impaired viewers to help them better understand and focus on video content. 1. Video Has Gone Global In addition to new technology making it easier than ever to create video, it has also allowed easy distribution anywhere in the world. Many countries have started broadcasting and streaming foreign content and more people are watching content that was created across the globe, explains Jagadish Ramamurthy, manager of audiovisual media services at SPi Global. Viewers demand better accessibility to audiovisual content and because of this, the audiovisual industry is seeing an extraordinary demand for subtitling. According to research conducted by Technavio, the global video market will grow at a compound annual rate of more than 25% by The video platforms driving this growth are Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and YouTube, which continue to expand into global markets. The report also notes that traditional broadcasters such as BBC and CNN are growing their global live-streaming and on-demand video capabilities to reach foreign viewers. As the video market becomes globalized, it is imperative that companies invest in subtitling to reach massive and now readily accessible foreign audiences.

5 SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets 5 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) 2. Accessible Legislation Is on the Rise As online video viewing has grown, accessibility legislation surrounding video has evolved to ensure that public information (for example materials for public education or developed by a government institution) can be viewed by deaf and hearing-impaired consumers. In 2016, the European Union passed E.U. Directive 2016/2102 requiring all websites and applications under the control of public sector organizations to be accessible. With regard to video, the directive stipulates that all government videos must have closed captioning or another accessible alternative within 14 days of broadcast. In the U.S., several laws govern digital accessibility requirements for government organizations and educational institutions. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1990, prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life. In a 2015 trial in which the National Association for the Deaf sued MIT and Harvard, the judge set a new precedent regarding ADA. The ruling stated that ADA applies to all public, digital educational materials, including videos, websites, and apps. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act also touches on digital accessibility. The 1998 amendment requires federal agencies to make their electronic content and technology accessible. Several state governments have adopted similar laws, dubbed little 508 s. Many of these laws point to accessibility guidelines such as the Worldwide Web Consortium s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0), which outlines the technical requirements for accessible content, including multimedia assets like video and audio. These guidelines provide a great starting point for video producers looking to make their content accessible to a wider audience.

6 6 SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets 3. More Viewers Expect & Use Closed Captions & Subtitles According to a study conducted by The Office Of Communications -- the regulatory body for U.K. television broadcasting -- the deaf and hard of hearing aren t the only consumers who use closed captioning. In fact, 80% of television viewers who used closed captioning were not deaf or hard of hearing. Respondents who didn t have hearing impairments said that closed captions helped them better understand the television program. Closed captioning can aid comprehension in a variety of ways. If the viewer speaks English as a second language, closed captions can make it easier for the viewer to follow along with the audio. Closed captions can also assist with comprehension of dialogue when it s spoken quickly, with accents, or with background noise. For viewers who have attention deficit disorder or autism, closed captions can help them maintain concentration during the program. And in quiet environments like a library or office, closed captions allow viewers to watch a program without audio. On social media, subtitles and closed captioning are gaining popularity. For example, Facebook automatically plays videos without sound as users scroll through their feeds. According to a study conducted by media agency MEC North America, 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound. As a result, subtitles and closed captions have become a critical way to capture users attention as they scroll and entice them to watch the video in full. The primary goal of captions and subtitles is expanding audiences, concludes Ramamurthy. By adding appropriate subtitles or captions to a video, audiences that would otherwise not be able to fully comprehend the show, whether because of a linguistic barrier or hearing impairment, can then enjoy it. This means a larger audience and better business.

SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets 7 How to Implement Subtitling and Closed Captioning Creating subtitles and closed captions can be a time consuming process.

YouTube, for example, boasts 95% accuracy when transcribing audio in videos.

7 SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets 7 How to Implement Subtitling and Closed Captioning Creating subtitles and closed captions can be a time consuming process. The text must be meticulously aligned with the audio to make it easy for a viewer to follow, and if translation is required, care must be taken to translate foreign expressions and idioms in a way that the viewer can understand. Although some technology providers take pride in their ability to create subtitles and closed captioning seamlessly by machine, the accuracy of these subtitles are unreliable. YouTube, for example, boasts 95% accuracy when transcribing audio in videos. While this seems impressive, that 5% of inaccuracy means there are errors in subtitles every few sentences, rendering them confusing or completely incomprehensible. Machine generated translations are particularly unreliable when a video features multiple speakers and background noise. Although machine translation technology is becoming ever more powerful, it s not yet properly come to grips with every level of human language says Ramamurthy. Things like tone, idioms, and other linguistic nuances won t be picked up by machine translation. It will only produce a literal word-for-word translation, which leads to a terrible result. To achieve accuracy and provide video content that is actually accessible, the best solution is still human translation and transcription. SPi Global has created a turnkey solution for video producers. SPi not only offers accurate subtitling and closed captioning services, the technology provider is also capable in localizing video descriptions and metadata, and formatting the video for any distribution platform. Unlike machine generated solutions, SPi Global s team ushers the video project from initial transcription to distribution-ready files. Our team of translators, who have a decade of subtitling experience, translate and spot the timing of the dialogue [deciding how long the subtitles should remain on the screen], says Ramamurthy. We also provide a full review of the completed file to ensure the deliverable is free of grammatical or translation errors and is technically correct.

8 8 SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets SPi Global s End-to-End Subtitling Solutions SPi Global offers a number of services to make video content more accessible. The company s primary subtitling services include translation, closed captioning, scripting/continuity lists, audio video description, metadata localization, and audio and video encoding. 1. Translation: SPi Global offers translation in over 25 different languages. A team of translators develop subtitles from a foreign language into a native language. SPi Global works exclusively with professional in-territory translators, says Ramamurthy. That allows the subtitles to not only be accurate but also to be presented in a way that is culturally relevant to the native language viewer. 4. Audio Video Description: This service is geared towards blind or visually impaired audiences. SPi Global creates and narrates scripts of videos, including natural pauses in the dialog, as well as critical sound elements. SPi Global provides this service in the original language of the video and in translation. 2. Closed Captioning: SPi Global provides closed captioning, which displays text of spoken dialog as well as descriptions of important non-dialog audio, such as sighs, door creaks, or song lyrics. These additional descriptions make video content completely accessible for deaf and hearingimpaired audiences. 5. Metadata Localization: Metadata is a critical aspect of online video. Metadata describes the content of the video so that websites and search engines can easily identify what the video is about. Without metadata, it would be nearly impossible for viewers to discover a video on platforms like YouTube or Netflix. SPi Global translates video metadata for foreign markets, taking into account local search terms and phrases. 3. Scripting/Continuity List: Continuity lists describe each shot of a video and include dialogue for that shot. Combined Continuity and Spotting Lists (CCSL) and Combined Dialogue and Spotting Lists (CDSL) are industry standards for continuity that are required by broadcast companies and studios. They provide the legal description of the video for copyright purposes and are used as a blueprint for closed captioning and subtitles. SPi Global provides scripting in CCSL, CDSL, as well as other formats and styles. 6. Audio & Video Encoding: Finally, SPi Global provides a number of services to format audio and video files in order to meet the requirements of a variety of platforms. Whether via digital platforms like Netflix and Amazon, television broadcasts, or digital cinema, audio and video encoding ensures that a company can reach its desired audience on any audio or video platform they prefer.

9 SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets 9 File/Video Checking Translation Review Video Subtitling Video Encoding & File Delivery Start-to-Finish Subtitling Services All of these solutions combined by SPi Global help clients meet any accessibility or global distribution requirements they may have. Because SPi Global provides audio and video encoding as well as subtitling services, we are a one-stop service for the production houses, says Ramamurthy. SPi Global s video transcription and translation process is turnkey and typically involves a number of steps. First, a quality analyst reviews the files that the client has submitted and sends any queries about the file to the client. Once those queries are resolved, the video audio is transcribed and translated. Next, the quality analyst reviews the transcription or translation for any errors and makes necessary corrections. Finalized subtitles are then exported into the appropriate file format and time stamped with the video content. Finally, the subtitled file is encoded to the format or formats the client requires. Typically the entire process takes three days for 100 minutes of content, but SPi Global can expedite this process and, if needed, draw on its large pool of translators and transcribers. This allows SPi Global to complete projects by the client s unique deadline. The goal is to make the subtitling and closed captioning process as simple and efficient for the client as possible.

10 SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets 3 Major Industries Putting Translation and Transcription into Action Today a variety of industries diving into video production

All three rely on video content to engage their audience and need subtitles to reach the largest and most diverse audiences possible.

These digital giants have brought programming to foreign markets and have significantly ratcheted up the need for subtitles and closed captioning.

The film industry has also become more international, says Ramamurthy.

As a result, the industry expanded widely and film producers have tapped viewership outside their local market.

10 10 SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets 3 Major Industries Putting Translation and Transcription into Action Today a variety of industries diving into video production can benefit from subtitling services. Those include the entertainment industry, the education industry, and the publishing industry. All three rely on video content to engage their audience and need subtitles to reach the largest and most diverse audiences possible. Film & Entertainment: In the entertainment industry, streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu have revolutionized how users consume video. These digital giants have brought programming to foreign markets and have significantly ratcheted up the need for subtitles and closed captioning. Production companies that host their content on streaming platforms but fail to provide subtitles in a number of languages are missing out on capturing new audiences and revenue. The film industry has also become more international, says Ramamurthy. At a recent Cannes Film Festival, the production houses wanted greater accessibility for their audience, and that has spurred the adoption of subtitling. As a result, the industry expanded widely and film producers have tapped viewership outside their local market. Publishing & Media: The publishing industry has also doubled down on digital video in recent years. One reason for the increase in video production is that consumers spend 2.6 times more time on pages that have video than those that do not, according to research conducted by Wistia. Video has also proven to be incredibly lucrative for publishers. CPMs for video advertising are on average 10 times higher than CPMs for display advertising. With subtitling and closed captioning, publishers ensure that more consumers can access their videos, which directly impacts the amount of revenue they can earn from that content. Education: Finally, education publishers and e-learning companies have embraced digital learning materials, including online courses and video. Many of the clients whom education publishers and e-learning companies serve, including public K-12 schools and universities, are legally required to provide accessible materials. As the 2015 lawsuit between the National Association for the Deaf and MIT and Harvard proved, educational institutions risk losing millions of dollars if their content is not accessible. As a result, education publishers and e-learning companies have doubled down on their accessibility programs to ensure that their content can meet the needs of any student. Subtitling, closed captioning, and audio video descriptions are a critical part of that effort.

SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets 11 Breaking Down Barriers to Information In the digital era, information and entertainment are just a mouse click away for anyone

11 SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets 11 Breaking Down Barriers to Information In the digital era, information and entertainment are just a mouse click away for anyone that owns a digital device and has an Internet connection. However, there are still barriers that some consumers must overcome in order to access this content. Whether consumers have a hearing or vision impairment, speak a foreign language, or require subtitles to help focus their attention, content producers must be mindful of the many ways people consume online video. Providing subtitles and closed captioning is an important step to ensuring that all viewers can access video, and that content producers can reach the widest audience possible and tap new revenue opportunities. In today s increasingly global and diverse video market, subtitling is no longer a nice-to-have, but an imperative for all media businesses.

12 SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets United States China Vietnam Nicaragua India Philippines About SPi Global We are the

We maximize the value of your content with our comprehensive suite of products and solutions, encompassing the extraction, processing, transformation and

12 12 SPi Global How Accessible Content Can Unlock New & Diverse Markets United States China Vietnam Nicaragua India Philippines About SPi Global We are the world s leading provider of content technology solutions in the information industry. We maximize the value of your content with our comprehensive suite of products and solutions, encompassing the extraction, processing, transformation and enrichment of content. For more information on how SPi Global can make your content accessible, adaptable and actionable, please contact: Jamie Israel Vice President of Marketing M jamie.israel@spi-global.com

Access to Internet for Persons with Disabilities and Specific Needs

Access to Internet for Persons with Disabilities and Specific Needs For ITU WCG (Resolution 1344) Prepared by Mr. Kyle Miers Chief Executive Deaf Australia 15 January 2016 Page 1 of 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY