Every country in Cullen International’s eight-nation survey of the Americas region requires some form of accessibility measures on TV. However, the national requirements and their applicability vary.
The benchmark shows that sign language for some TV programming is the norm in Latin America, except in Colombia (but Colombia required sign language for some news broadcasts during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic). Neither the US nor Canada have sign language requirements for TV.
Subtitled content is required on over-the-air (OTA) TV in all eight countries, while the US has imposed subtitling requirements on both OTA TV and all forms of pay TV.
Argentina and Brazil have imposed audio description requirements on OTA TV. The US requires audio description on both OTA TV and all forms of pay TV. In contrast, Chile, Mexico and Peru have no audio description obligations for TV at all.
Neither Brazil, nor Mexico, nor Peru require any accessibility measures whatsoever over pay TV.
For more information & to access the full benchmark, please click on “Access the full content” - or on “Request Access”, in case you are not subscribed to our Americas Media Service.
more news
26 April 24
Have member states transposed the EU collective redress rules?
Our new benchmark shows the status of transposition of the Collective Redress Directive in 17 EU countries. The research also includes information on recent collective redress actions against digital companies and telecoms providers.
25 April 24
[Cullen Explainer] Capital and purchased goods amount to most scope 3 emissions of telecoms operators
Our latest Explainer looks into scope 3 emissions, focusing on the reporting practices of telecoms operators.
22 April 24
Who has not transposed the European Electronic Communications Code yet?
Cullen International’s benchmark analyses the status of transposition of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) across the EU 27 plus UK and Norway.