By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC said Wednesday it will expect online streaming undertakings to provide described video for new, third-party and legacy programs and described audio for news and information programs.
The policy, part of the implementation of the Online Streaming Act, will apply only to English- and French-language scripted pre-recorded programs and partially scripted live events of national interest, such as the Academy Awards and the Olympic Opening Ceremony.
New original programs are those that are created or commissioned by the streamer and made available on its platform; third-party programs are those created by other companies but is being made available by the streamer; and legacy programs are those already made available by the service.
The regulator said it will “expect” the number of scripted pre-recorded legacy programs with described video to increase each year and is encouraging online streamers and on-demand services to focus on describing the most popular legacy programs.
“The measures outlined above are intended to decrease barriers to access to content without straining described video resources and to ensure continued access both to the diversity of programs available from online streaming undertakings and on-demand services and to described video of consistent quality,” the CRTC said in the proposed policy.
The CRTC is also requiring that online streamers and on-demand services provide described audio for all new original news and information programs that they make available to audiences, with the exception of third-party programs. The rationale is that traditional broadcasters are required to do so for these types of programs produced in-house and that community programming broadcast on these platforms include the original audio description by default.
“Unlike described video, audio description relies on a program host or announcer to provide a voice-over by reading aloud or describing key visual elements of news and information programs,” the CRTC said.
The regulator said it is also exempting advertisements and promotional programs from those requirements on online streaming and on-demand services. The CRTC said it does not require traditional broadcasters to provide described services for these programs and noted that some said they are too short with not enough pauses to squeeze in such services.
The CRTC also said most online streaming and on-demand services said they would add a search feature that would allow people to easily find programs with described video, and would be able to do so by the end of 2025. The regulator will make it a requirement that they provide those services.
Comments on this proposal are due February 3, 2026.
Streamers will be required to submit their implementation strategies for the new policy by September 17, 2026 and confirm implementation by December 17, 2027, when the policy will come into effect.
These services will also have to submit annual reports – which includes the number of described services they make available, the year-over-year change, and complaints they have received – due November 30 starting in 2028.
