Knesset expected to pass landmark law on TV subtitles

Knesset

Knesset expected to pass landmark law on TV subtitles Tuesday

By Ruth Sinai,
Haaretz Correspondent
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/604573.html

The Knesset is expected to pass Tuesday or Wednesday a landmark law requiring the majority of television broadcasts in Israel to carry subtitles, for the benefit of the country's some 600,000 deaf and hard-of-hearing people.

This despite efforts by some of the broadcast organizations to block the legislation, which will affect programs that are pre-recorded or aired live.A compromise agreement reached between the organizations for the deaf and disabled and the broadcast networks states that the introduction of subtitles will be gradual, beginning with 40 percent to 50 percent of pre-recorded prime-time programs and broadcasts in January 2006 and increasing to 100 percent of prime-time broadcasts by 2010.

Subtitles for live programs will begin in 2009, covering 25 percent of broadcasts and reaching 100 percent by January 2015. However, beginning in 2007 there will be at least one daily live broadcast accompanied by subtitles.The bill, first proposed three years ago, achieved its final form in marathon negotiations Monday and Sunday headed by MK Shaul Yahalom (NRP), who was determined pass the bill before resigning from his post as chairman of the Labor and Welfare Committee.Leading up to negotiations, there was concern that the two proposers of the bill, Eliezer Cohen (National Union) and Ayoub Kara (Likud), would withdraw it at the last minute due to pressure from the broadcasters."

The picture we got was that we were way behind other Western countries, although no technical obstacles were involved and the costs were a tiny fraction of the profits," said Zevulun Gorni, director of the Shema organization for the rehabilitation of hard-of-hearing children and youth."We were subjected to threats and intimidation and perhaps that is why the broadcasters were treated so generously. But we decided to swallow the gradual implementation formula, so that every hard-of-hearing person could be part of the family excitement surrounding television."

The broadcasters claimed that for technical reasons they could not provide subtitling for live programs in the near future, explaining the extended deadlines in this provision of the agreement.The subtitling law will apply to the five major channels decided on by the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council and to three dedicated channels: one Russian-language, one news and one heritage channel.Children's channels will be obligated to provide subtitling in 50 percent more programs than required from other channels beginning in 2007.