Organisations can often be caught off balance by new legislation. The introduction of the European Accessibility Act (EAA or “the Act”), which comes into effect on 28th June 2025, is no different. The implications for video and streaming services have raised questions about how the EAA will be implemented and what penalties streamers will face if they fail to comply.
The EAA represents a major shift in how accessibility is being enforced across the EU. It is a European directive harmonising accessibility standards for products and services across EU member states. It mandates that audiovisual media services, including streaming platforms, must ensure their new content published after 28th June, 2025, is accessible to people with disabilities (PWD). The Act requires streamers to provide accessibility features such as closed captions, subtitles and audio descriptions that sync with their content. Service providers will also need to ensure the user interface and navigation of their sites are compatible with assistive technologies like screen readers, the quality of which tends to be inconsistent across platforms. Leaving it up to service providers to ensure that screen magnification, font sizes, colours and other features are available to suit user preferences.
The EAA checklist is thorough, but the good news is that most streaming services already comply with existing WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards. If you’ve been investing in accessibility, then the EAA is a natural next step.
Invite inclusive collaboration
While the EAA aims to create a more equitable digital landscape for people with disabilities living in the EU, the directive applies to all streaming providers that serve content to viewers in the region, regardless of country of origin. At my company, we work with global service providers to ensure that they can offer the best possible experience for viewers in different regions, managing the complexities of geographical coverage, while accounting for every known device and OS combination across smart TVs, games consoles and streaming devices. These services also extend to digital rights management (DRM) and licensing agreements, to ensure that content is licensed correctly in different markets. Crucially, this model that maintains a high-quality digital user experience across global markets also applies to digital accessibility.
This quality assurance model is delivered at scale using a global community of independent testers that support the testing and validation of digital products and services, from software development right through to final release. These test scenarios span everything from user authentication, to accessing a streaming site, to assessing video and audio quality. Testing can apply to closed captions or screen reader compatibility, too. That’s why it’s important to have access to local accessibility experts and testers. Not only should the testing community members reflect your diverse audience, in terms of age, ability, language and demographic backgrounds, but they should also possess an understanding of the EAA regulation and how that is applied in each member state.
Inclusive collaboration will help identify EAA features that our customers have directed us to test regarding accessibility standards. PWD engagement and real user feedback are invaluable for understanding accessibility and uncovering issues that automated tools or even WCAG conformance guidance might miss.
Operationalise accessibility
A key stipulation of the EAA is that it focuses on organisational commitment, not just product features. It encourages involving real users with disabilities in your accessibility efforts and recommends embedding accessibility into your design and development processes. This approach will allow you to ‘operationalise’ accessibility to help ensure that services are EAA and WCAG compliant now, while having the flexibility to address any future changes to the legislation.
Flexibility is necessary because the EAA provides a mechanism that allows users to register complaints if they feel that streaming services don’t meet accessibility standards. Complaints will be managed by designated bodies in each of the member states that have the authority to take corrective measures, which may result in €100,000 fines or content removal.
That’s why it’s important that service providers adopt a culture of inclusivity led by accessibility champions, to educate their support teams across design, development, legal and procurement about accessibility requirements. This shift will help to foster feedback loops, introduce accessibility earlier in the design process and allow providers to respond quickly to complaints or new directives to improve the end-user experience. Improving accessibility enhances the user experience for everyone and can help mitigate risks under regulations like EAA.
