On Friday came some brilliant news which should progress ad accessibility significantly in the UK. ITV announced that it will make closed caption subtitles mandatory for all advertisers by January 2027. This refers to ads across all of their channels, as well as their VOD platform, ITVX. It’s a positive step for the industry and one that reflects the growing recognition that accessible advertising isn’t an optional extra. It’s simply good practice.
We’re proud to have been championing accessible advertising for four years now, trying to raise awareness of all of the reasons why making ads more accessible is worth it. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it also makes good business sense. The Ad Accessibility Network, of which we’re a member, have a brilliant resource on their website which outlines eight reasons to prioritise accessibility which can be added to your organisations business case.
The most significant recent improvement in the drive towards accessibility came last year when Channel 4 announced that they would be making subtitles mandatory on all of its advertising from Spring this year. We’re now so pleased to see that another major broadcaster has joined them in this landmark commitment, with ITV now announcing the same.
Bobi Carley, Director of Media and Advertising Relations at ISBA said “ITV’s commitment to 100% subtitled advertising is a significant step forward for accessible advertising in the UK. The Ad Accessibility Network, convened by ISBA, has been championing accessible advertising because brands want to reach all audiences, not just some of them. With 18 million people in the UK who are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus, subtitles can make a transformative difference to how advertising is experienced. By making subtitling standard and ensuring smaller advertisers can access it too, ITV is helping move accessibility from aspiration to everyday practice. We hope this encourages even more of the industry to follow suit.”
But why are subtitles even important? Why should you care? And, what needs to change in your marketing machine to make sure your brand is ITV and Channel 4 compliant? We’ve answered all of this and more in the CMO playbook – we break down the subtitles mandate and explains exactly how to make sure your brand is a part of this positive change.
A while ago when we started this endeavour, we dreamed of changing the status quo, to “improve [subtitling] culture for good” so that subtitled ads didn’t seem special and instead became common place. It’s great to see that we are now one step closer to that dream being our reality.
Make every word count with Clearcast subtitles – created by a team of experts (not AI!) that work with your creative, meaning you don’t have to compromise on making a great ad, to become more accessible. With a super quick turnaround, for only £200 (re-edits included), it’s a no-brainer.
But what about Audio Description?
Although this is a great step forward for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, it’s important to note that the blind and partially sighted community are still way behind where advertising is concerned. In our blog, we outlined three reasons why audio description (AD) is worth it, as well as tips on what makes great AD and how to commission it for your ad.
Our AD partners, the Voiceover Gallery, recently wrote about this in their piece ‘Audio should be a priority from the start’ in the Autumn 2026 Broadcast Tech magazine. “This is undoubtedly positive for accessibility. However, it also raises an important question: if accessibility is being prioritised for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences, why does provision for blind and partially sighted audiences still lag behind?” You can find their article on pages 28-29.
Get a high-quality audio track with Clearcast Audio Description. Created by experts (not AI!) who will write, record, mix and edit the track for your ad, and oversee quality control to ensure clarity and time accuracy, synchronising it to picture and dialogue gaps.