BBC accessibility policy

Why the BBC supports web accessibility

The internet can be a great enabler and source of freedom for disabled users. As such, the value of BBC Online (and the wider web) to our disabled and aging audiences depends on its accessibility.

This is an area of importance for the BBC. In keeping with our public-service remit, and our obligations under the Equality Act, we are committed to ensuring that BBC digital services are as accessible to disabled and elderly people as reasonably possible.

We aim for a consistently high level of usability for our entire audience across all of our websites, following best-practice accessibility guidelines. We engage with disabled, non-disabled and elderly people throughout website development to fully understand user requirements and ensure we produce sites that meet these.

We also create specific content or tools to enable particular disabled user groups to get a better experience of BBC Online. Some innovative results of these policies include:

  • This accessibility help site (My web my way), which advises users on how to customise their computer setup and remove barriers to using the web
  • BBC iPlayer's industry-leading inclusion of audio description, signing and subtitles, which won it an Access-IT@Home award
  • Specialised tools to help disabled and elderly people customise BBC websites to better suit their access needs - such as the 'change font size and colours' accessibility controls at the top of this page, and a forthcoming accessibility settings system across all of BBC Online
  • Targeted content, such as the Bafta-nominated Us5 interactive videos to help people with learning difficulties make life-choices, and the RADAR-nominated CBBC Accessible Newsreader and switch-accessible games for children with motor and cognitive disabilities

The BBC is committed to sharing its experience of how to create usable and accessible websites via our accessibility standards, and by working with the wider accessibility and disability communities and the rest of the UK web industry.

We welcome feedback from our users: please contact the Accessibility Team.

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