MeAC – Measuring Progress of eAccessibility in Europe

Legislation/regulations

Analogue TV

Radio and television broadcasting services in Malta are regulated by the Broadcasting Authority in accordance with the Broadcasting Act. The Act makes no direct reference to any of the issues of relevance for eAccessibility in broadcasting (i.e. closed captions, subtitles, sign language interpretation, audio description, etc).

A National Broadcasting Policy published by the Minister for Tourism and Culture in 2004 sets a policy for the national public service broadcaster (Public Services Broadcasting Ltd.). The policy includes an obligation on the Public Service Broadcaster to provide at least one daily news bulletin in Maltese with access services for the hearing impaired.

Digital TV

A consultation document on digital broadcasting policy published by the Malta Broadcasting Authority (MCA) includes measures such as subtitling and sign language as a possible criterion for selection of General Interest broadcasting licenses. The consultation period ended in January 2008 and a decision has yet to issue.

Other initiatives

Also, the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (KNPD) received a complaint that people with hearing impairment whose first language is the Maltese Sign Language could not access the most popular TV programme in Malta, ‘Xarabank’, which is shown on TVM every Friday. The KNPD initiated discussions both with the directors of PBS and the producers of Xarabank. A proposal was made on how to resolve the situation and discussions are ongoing to implement it.

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