INDUSTRY · MEDIA, STREAMING & PUBLISHERS · BFSG · BITV 2.0 · WCAG 2.2

Accessible videos and media
– Content that truly reaches everyone.

Media companies depend on being heard, seen and read. However, a video without subtitles is inaccessible to people with hearing impairments, a podcast without a transcript remains silent to deaf people, and an e-paper without a clear structure denies screen reader users access to the news. For publishers, streaming providers and broadcasters, accessibility is therefore not just a technical footnote, but a fundamental condition for their reach. IFDB GmbH ensures that your platforms, players and publications are demonstrably accessible – audited using real users of assistive technologies and backed by a legally reliable certificate.

A person on the sofa is watching a streaming platform on a smart TV – accessible video players and subtitles for streaming providers in accordance with the BFSG and WCAG 2.2
A podcaster wearing headphones speaks into a studio microphone – accessible audio and video content with a transcript for media providers in accordance with the BFSG and BITV 2.0
A cameraman films a woman during a video production in the studio – accessible video production with audio description and subtitles for publishers and broadcasters in accordance with WCAG 2.2
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Four areas where audiences are being lost

  • No sector produces as much and such a wide variety of content as the media industry – and hardly any other has to manage so many channels at the same time. It is precisely this diversity that creates barriers in areas that are rarely checked in day-to-day editorial work.
  • Video players that slow down assistive technologies.
    Players developed in-house and embedded in websites often cannot be controlled with a keyboard, and their controls are not labelled for screen readers. Even good content fails to have the desired effect if the player itself is inaccessible.
  • Missing subtitles, transcripts and audio description.
    Video and audio are at the core of modern media content. Without subtitles for people with hearing impairments, without a transcript and without audio description for blind customers, even the best production will only reach a fraction of its potential audience.
  • E-papers and digital publications without a reading structure.
    Publishers are converting their print publications into digital formats – often as PDFs or in proprietary formats which, without a tagged reading order, remain unusable for screen readers. The message is there, but it isn’t getting through.
  • Paywalls and login processes as obstacles.
    Paywalls, subscription models and registration processes determine access to the full range of content. If they are designed in a way that makes them inaccessible, users who are willing to pay will fail at the very stage of payment.
A young woman wearing a backlit gaming headset smiles in front of a PC monitor – inaccessible video players and missing subtitles as an accessibility issue for streaming providers and media platforms according to the BFSG and WCAG 2.2
TWO WORLDS, ONE COMMITMENT TO ACCESSIBILITY

What the BFSG and BITV 2.0 signify for media providers

Porträtfoto von Lukas Maximilian Langer, Gründer und Leiter Audit & Zertifizierung der IFDB GmbH
Lukas Maximilian Langer

Founder | Head of Audit & Certification

The media industry rests on two legal pillars. Since the 28th of June 2025, private publishers, commercial streaming services and advertising-funded platforms have been subject to the Accessibility Strengthening Act as soon as they offer their content to consumers as a digital service. E-books are even explicitly listed as a covered product in the Act. The standards applied are WCAG 2.2 and EN 301 549.

Public service broadcasting and publicly funded media services are also subject to the BITV 2.0 and other media-specific requirements, such as those relating to subtitling and audio description. For many organisations, this means that several levels of regulation overlap.

The risk is very real: warning letters from associations and competitors, as well as complaints from regulatory bodies. Added to this is a factor that hits media companies particularly hard – public perception. Anyone whose job involves communication can hardly afford to make negative headlines themselves when it comes to accessibility.

OUR APPROACH TO MEDIA COMPANIES

Vier Lösungen für Inhalte, die ihr volles Publikum erreichen

Media products are a moving target: new articles, videos and editions appear every day across numerous channels. A reliable accessibility solution must be able to keep up with this dynamic environment. The following four products are designed to do just that.

Book a Demo
Access Ready®

It carries out an in-depth audit of your platforms, players and login processes – using real users of assistive technologies such as JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver. Interactive media elements and in-house players, in particular, only reveal their weaknesses when put through their paces in a real-world scenario. The process culminates in the IFDB certificate, which serves as robust proof of compliance.

Access Doc®

unlocks publishers’ digital heritage: e-papers, magazines, white papers and archive collections. Access Doc® converts these publications to the PDF/UA standard on a scalable basis – ensuring that the printed word reaches every reader in its digital form.

Access Guard®

monitors your content in line with the industry’s rapid publication pace. Every new post, every template update and every campaign page can introduce new compliance issues. The monitoring system detects these immediately and ensures your compliance status remains stable throughout the entire editorial process.

Access Academy®

establishes knowledge right where content is created: in your editorial offices and content teams. Anyone who sub-titles videos, structures articles or designs layouts should be familiar with the principles of accessibility. Access Academy® provides your staff with practical training – ensuring that every new piece of content is produced with accessibility in mind right from the start.

FROM THE INITIAL ASSESSMENT TO THE CERTIFICATE

Four steps to accessible media content

  • Step 01 – The free assessment
    Access Score® automatically scans your platform and, within a few minutes, identifies the areas where action is most urgently needed – with no obligation and at no effort to your editorial team.
  • Step 02 – Reviewing the critical media elements
    Our audit team manually checks players, login paths and publication formats, working alongside users of assistive technologies. This reveals any barriers precisely where your audience interacts with your content.
  • Step 03 – Resolve and certify
    You will receive a prioritised audit report containing specific recommendations that are ready for implementation. Once all non-conformities have been resolved, we will issue the IFDB certificate – your proof for the public, advertising partners and regulatory authorities.
  • Step 04 – Long-term security
    With Access Guard®, the level of accessibility achieved remains consistent even during day-to-day publishing operations. At the same time, Access Academy® ensures that your teams design new content to be accessible from the outset.

The Access Ready® Award – awarded to pioneers of genuine digital inclusion.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about accessibility in the media and publishing industry

In general, yes. Since June 2025, private publishers and commercial streaming providers have been subject to the BFSG; e-books are even expressly covered. Public service broadcasters are also subject to the BITV 2.0 and media-specific regulations. Often, several levels of regulation apply simultaneously.

Videos require subtitles for people with hearing impairments, ideally a transcript, and, in the case of purely visual content, audio description. Furthermore, the player itself must be designed to be accessible – that is, operable using a keyboard and labelled for screen readers.

Audio content should be provided with a transcript to ensure it is accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing people. During the audit, we will assess which requirements apply to your specific format.

These are also covered by the requirements. Access Doc® converts e-papers, magazines and archive collections into the PDF/UA standard in a scalable manner, so that screen readers can correctly reproduce the reading order and structure.

Yes. Players are among the most demanding elements of all. They must be fully operable using a keyboard and accessible to assistive technologies – an area that automated scanners do not cover adequately, so we will test this with real users.

With the IFDB certificate from the Access Ready® audit. It documents a comprehensive testing process in accordance with WCAG 2.2 and serves as robust evidence of your due diligence – both to regulatory authorities and to business partners.

That’s exactly what Access Guard® is for. Its continuous monitoring automatically checks new content and template changes and immediately flags any accessibility issues that show up. In addition, Access Academy® ensures that your teams take accessibility into account right from the start.

Absolutely. Subtitles and transcripts not only improve accessibility, but also make your content easier to find through search engines and more usable in noisy or silent environments. Accessibility measurably expands your reach.

Anyone who produces content for the public should reach the whole public.

Accessible media offerings not only broaden your reach; they also fulfil the journalistic commitment to being accessible to everyone. Let’s figure out together where your platforms, players and publications stand today.

Start your free analysis

Moving images, audio and publications – the specific requirements of the media industry

Hardly any other sector presents such a wide range of challenges in terms of accessibility as the media industry, as it is here that video, audio and text all come together simultaneously. In its guidelines for accessible audio and video media, the W3C sets out in detail which measures – from subtitles and transcripts to audio description – are required to ensure that multimedia content reaches all users. The Accessibility Strengthening Act has applied to private publishers since June 2025, whilst public service broadcasters are also subject to the BITV 2.0.

A free initial analysis first assesses the current state of your digital media offerings, before a certified in-depth audit examines players, login processes and publication formats in detail. And because new content is created every day in a media organisation, practical training for your editorial teams embeds the necessary knowledge directly where content is produced – ensuring that accessibility is not an afterthought, but is taken into account right from the start.