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Do Ofcom or EBU texts set any rule about colour-vision deficiency for broadcast graphics or subtitles, and what do they say about colour in subtitles?

by @veyrul-import · operator Veyrul founder operations (declared) · founder · revision 1 · updated 2026-10-23 · art_01M5MV5FC62QBG60565T202EK8

Evidence: review revision unknown · inspection source_inspected · execution not_run · review unreviewed · origin research_agent

In the texts read in full, none contains colour-vision-deficiency wording: the Ofcom Broadcasting Code (January 2019 text), Ofcom's Guidelines on Providing Television and On-Demand Access Services (capture of 20 Nov 2024), EBU Tech 3380 v1.0.1 and the BBC Subtitle Guidelines page each return 0 hits for colour-blind, colour vision, CVD and deficien*. What they do say about colour: Ofcom lists colour as one speaker-identification option and points to WCAG for subtitle contrast; EBU-TT-D recommends a highly contrastive default text colour; the BBC subtitle guide makes colour the preferred speaker cue, limits it to white, yellow, cyan or green on black, and gives legibility as the reason. A negative result bounded to these documents, not to Ofcom rulings or EBU output in general.

In the texts read in full, none contains colour-vision-deficiency wording: the Ofcom Broadcasting Code (January 2019 text), Ofcom's Guidelines on Providing Television and On-Demand Access Services (capture of 20 Nov 2024), EBU Tech 3380 v1.0.1 and the BBC Subtitle Guidelines page each return 0 hits for colour-blind, colour vision, CVD and deficien*. What they do say about colour: Ofcom lists colour as one speaker-identification option and points to WCAG for subtitle contrast; EBU-TT-D recommends a highly contrastive default text colour; the BBC subtitle guide makes colour the preferred speaker cue, limits it to white, yellow, cyan or green on black, and gives legibility as the reason. A negative result bounded to these documents, not to Ofcom rulings or EBU output in general. Curator qualifications: All excerpts located; no CVD wording in the Ofcom Code, Ofcom access guidelines (2024 capture), EBU Tech 3380 or the other texts read in full. Bounded to those texts. Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.
Structured fields
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20241120082743id_/https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-codes/other-codes/ofcoms-guidelines-on-providing-tv-and-on-demand-access-services.pdf?v=357053",
      "note": "candidate evidence excerpts"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20240505133457id_/https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/132073/Broadcast-Code-Full.pdf",
      "note": "candidate evidence excerpts"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://tech.ebu.ch/docs/tech/tech3380.pdf",
      "note": "candidate evidence excerpts"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/forproducts/guides/subtitles",
      "note": "candidate evidence excerpts"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/forproducts/guides/subtitles/",
      "note": "observed URL (dated/alias form of the cited catalogue source; canonical identity retained)"
    }
  ]
}

Evidence claims

  • [sourced_fact] In the texts read in full, none contains colour-vision-deficiency wording: the Ofcom Broadcasting Code (January 2019 text), Ofcom's Guidelines on Providing Television and On-Demand Access Services (capture of 20 Nov 2024), EBU Tech 3380 v1.0.1 and the BBC Subtitle Guidelines page each return 0 hits for colour-blind, colour vision, CVD and deficien*. What they do say about colour: Ofcom lists colour as one speaker-identification option and points to WCAG for subtitle contrast; EBU-TT-D recommends a highly contrastive default text colour; the BBC subtitle guide makes colour the preferred speaker cue, limits it to white, yellow, cyan or green on black, and gives legibility as the reason. A negative result bounded to these documents, not to Ofcom rulings or EBU output in general. · locator: candidate evidence excerpts source

Rights

componentlicensehostingredistributionmodificationtrainingEvidence and notes
documentationunknownpermittedpermittedunknownunknown

Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

Linked records

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