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28. 09. 10. - 12:00

ORF sentenced over DVD lacking subtitles

National channel ORF has been fined for failing to provide subtitles on one of its DVDs in a groundbreaking legal case.

The broadcaster was ordered by the Commercial Court of Vienna yesterday (Mon) to pay 700 Euros to a deaf man who bought its "100 Jahre Sturm Graz" DVD last year. The documentary looking back at the 100 years of popular football club SK Sturm Graz did not feature subtitles for people hard of hearing.

The deaf man who bought the DVD decided to go to court over the lack of subtitles in what is the first trial of its kind in Austria. ORF bosses have declined to comment on the verdict today. The state-owned broadcaster is expected to appeal the sentence since it could trigger a string of similar complaints regarding ORF products and services.

Judges ruled that featuring the DVD with subtitles would not have caused the ORF "unbearable costs". Deaf people pressure groups criticised the amount the company was fined for being too low.

ORF, which is headquartered in Vienna, claims to offer around 500 hours of TV programming with subtitles per month. The firm started a project in which live broadcasts from sport competitions and other events are subtitled.

Around half a million of the 8.5 million people living in Austria are deaf or hard of hearing.

Political pressure on ORF decision-makers has increased over the past few months as the station’s viewer figures have dwindled.

Its broadcasts had a market share of 33.9 per cent in Austrian households with cable or satellite TV last month, down by 0.3 per cent compared to August 2009 when its market shares hit an all-time low. Around 3.406 million people tuned in for ORF TV programmes last month, research has shown.

Company bosses have pointed out that private competitors were getting stronger, and that a soaring number of Austrians receive dozens of German channels and programmes from all over the world. They also claimed that the number of young people using the internet as their only source for information and entertainment was on the rise.

ORF officials, however, also said the company was in a strong position and able to take on challenges in the ever-changing world of media.

Austrian Times

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