David Blunkett believes broadcasters are failing deaf and blind people by using garbled subtitles and by being reluctant to dub foreign programmes.
The MP and former Labour home secretary also said TV executives were guilty of “worshipping the cult of youth”.
Blunkett, who was born blind, said deaf people were struggling with subtitles such as “the Arsenal player has been fouled by a zebra” (instead of referring to footballer Patrice Evra) and “looking for the prince of chemical and bionicle weapons” (principally chemical and biological weapons).
He also complained that blind people were left frustrated when foreign dramas and documentaries were not dubbed.
Blunkett told the Radio Times that broadcasters were failing to deal with a “growing problem” of an ageing population, many of whom suffered from blindness and deafness.
He said: “Broadcasters talk a good deal about equality, but preaching is not enough. In an ageing population, people with hearing and sight impairments are becoming part of the mainstream.
“It’s no longer about a minority: we’re a major sector of the viewing public, and we have the same rights as everyone else who pays the licence fee.
“Today, the way TV executives worship the cult of youth seems to be an unstoppable fetish.
“It is the trendy, the metropolitan and … the under-40s who determine what we view and what we listen to.
“But much of the spending power reflects an older age group. The ageing population wields a very powerful incentive: our financial muscle.”
He added: “There is an increasing tendency for overseas material to be broadcast without being dubbed.
“I appreciate that many people don’t like dubbed dialogue, but if you’re blind it’s invaluable – you can piece together the storylines simply by listening to what is said.”
In May, new director-general Tony Hall said the BBC could look at how to stop actors “muttering” in its TV dramas, and that the corporation was trying to address the problem of background music making it difficult for some viewers, particularly older ones, to hear what was being said on programmes.
Same Difference 
There’s a HUGE amount of snobbery against dubbing of foreign dialog in TV/films – not least from influential film critics like Mark Kermode. This is odd as mainland Europe has no problem with much of their TV/films being dubbed into French/German/whatevs. The biggest problem/irony with AD and “accessibility” services is the fact you need to be fully sighted to access and set them up.Both Sky and Virgin media do offer TTS accessibility but it is necessary for a fully-sighted person to set them up. As far as AD on Freeview goes: from what I’ve heard (on friends’ TVs) it’s OK – but my TV is 10 years old and will only let me hear *either*, not both the normal output and AD. It is V annoying that AD is absent from TV channels’ live streaming and rental services like Lovefilm and Netflix don’t offer AD on their streaming services.
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