Co-founder @Includio
What the European Accessibility Act Means for Media Companies
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) sets a legal framework to ensure equal access to digital and media content across the EU. Starting June 2025, media companies, broadcasters, and streaming platforms must comply with new accessibility standards for all consumer-facing digital products and services.
The Act covers a wide range of sectors, but for media companies, it targets accessibility in video and audio content. This means your organization must make video libraries, live streams, and apps accessible to viewers with disabilities and meet all EAA 2025 requirements for accessible production workflows.
Non-compliance carries real risks: fines, lawsuits, and reputational damage. Regulators and advocacy groups are actively monitoring progress, and public pressure for inclusivity continues to grow.
Key EAA 2025 Requirements for Media Companies
From June 2025, new content must comply with EAA 2025 requirements. Existing back catalogs must follow by 2030. For video producers and distributors, the main requirements include:
● Audio Description (AD): Provide narration describing key visual elements for blind or partially sighted audiences.
● Subtitles and Closed Captions: Ensure accuracy and synchronization for all dialogue and important sounds.
● Sign Language Interpretation: Include sign language where required by national law or for high-value content.
● Accessible Interfaces: Make playback controls, menus, and digital services operable with assistive technologies.
Compliance will require coordination between legal, content, and technology teams. You must audit existing workflows and address accessibility compliance video processes before the deadline.
Why Audio Description Is the Biggest Bottleneck
Audio description remains the hardest part of compliance for most broadcasters and streamers. It demands creative skill, technical precision, and careful timing. Traditional production workflows still treat it as an optional step, which slows delivery and increases risk. As deadlines for EAA 2025 requirements approach, this delay becomes more serious.
Manual AD creation requires experienced describers who understand pacing, tone, and cultural nuance. The number of certified describers across Europe is limited, and competition for their time continues to rise. Many organizations are now managing thousands of hours of unprocessed footage and struggling to maintain schedules.
Several practical challenges make AD the main bottleneck:
● Limited Workforce: Europe has fewer than 1,000 trained describers available for large-scale productions. Finding qualified professionals for niche languages or regional dialects can take months.
● Complex Coordination: Each video file must be scripted, voiced, mixed, and quality checked. The process can take up to 10 hours for every finished hour of content.
● High Costs: Manual narration and studio recording increase per-hour expenses, especially when outsourcing to multiple vendors.
● Inconsistent Standards: Different regions follow varying AD guidelines, complicating compliance under EAA 2025 requirements.
Public and private broadcasters must meet compliance for all new content by June 2025 and ensure their backlog is accessible by 2030. Demand for describers is expected to grow another 30% in the next year, driving cost and scheduling pressure.
The only way to manage this effectively is to integrate AD into core production pipelines, plan long-term resource allocation, and adopt centralized workflows that ensure accessibility compliance video standards are met for every release. Failing to prioritize AD early risks missed deadlines, legal penalties, and a loss of audience trust.
How the EAA Affects Broadcasters and Streamers
1. Legal Compliance and Accountability
Your organization must demonstrate accessibility compliance video standards to national regulators. Audit-ready reporting and documentation will be critical. Non-compliance can lead to financial penalties and public complaints.
2. Workflow Integration
Accessibility must move from post-production to integrated pipeline management. Teams will need unified workflows for AD, subtitles, and sign language to ensure consistency with EAA 2025 requirements.
3. Vendor Management
Using multiple accessibility vendors creates fragmentation and delays. A centralized provider with full-stack delivery helps simplify oversight and maintain quality control.
4. Financial Planning
Accessibility requires budget alignment. Companies that plan early can manage predictable costs and avoid last-minute surcharges.
Steps You Can Take to Prepare for EAA 2025
You can start compliance preparation immediately by following these steps. Each step builds toward a sustainable and verifiable approach that proves EAA 2025 requirements compliance and delivers consistent accessibility compliance video quality across your catalogue:
- Audit Your Catalogue:
Review all content for accessibility gaps in AD, subtitles, and user interface design. Create an internal inventory that lists every video asset, its accessibility status, and remediation needs. - Prioritize High-Visibility Titles:
Focus resources on flagship content or new releases with the widest reach that require accessibility compliance video updates. Use analytics to identify top-performing titles that carry the greatest compliance and reputational risk. - Consolidate Vendors:
Partner with a provider offering a full range of accessibility services to simplify delivery. Centralization reduces coordination time and prevents gaps between captioning, audio description, and sign language. - Establish Reporting Standards:
Build audit trails and documentation showing your progress toward EAA 2025 requirements compliance. Align your reports with regulator expectations and keep version logs for each update. - Plan for Scalability:
Your content backlog will require long-term scheduling. Estimate how many hours of media you can process monthly and scale production accordingly. Begin now to handle 2025 and beyond while maintaining consistent quality control.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
● Leaving AD to the End: Waiting until post-production creates bottlenecks.
● Working with Too Many Vendors: Fragmented processes lead to inconsistent results.
● Skipping Internal Training: Teams must understand accessibility compliance video standards and responsibilities.
● Underestimating Volume: Many organizations underestimate how much legacy content must be remediated.
Why Partnering with Includio Makes Compliance Easier
Includio helps broadcasters and streamers achieve full accessibility compliance video standards before the EAA 2025 deadlines.
What You Get:
● Largest Certified Describer Network in Europe: Over 400 professional describers across 42 languages, delivering 325,000+ minutes of audio description.
● Centralized Workflow: All accessibility formats — audio description, captions, sign language, and translations — handled under one roof.
● Audit-Ready Reporting: Transparent documentation for regulators and internal compliance teams.
● Predictable Delivery: Scalable access to expertise, ensuring your catalogue becomes fully compliant with EAA 2025 requirements.
The Business Case for Early Compliance
Accessibility is not only a legal requirement but also a brand advantage. Viewers expect inclusivity, and accessible content reaches broader audiences.
● More than 100 million Europeans live with a disability.
● 1 in 4 European adults rely on accessibility compliance video features for digital media.
● Compliance builds trust with regulators, investors, and consumers.
Early adopters can use accessibility as a differentiator. Being fully compliant signals responsibility and leadership in inclusion.
Take Action Now
The EAA 2025 requirements compliance deadline is less than a year away. Every month counts. Start your accessibility compliance video audit now to identify gaps and build your roadmap.
Talk to an Expert to schedule your accessibility audit and prepare your content strategy for 2025.
