Amazon Prime Video now lists 7,962 audio-described titles, more than double Netflix’s 3,166, yet the entire tracked catalog of described video across every major US platform totals just 14,428 titles (ACB Audio Description Project tracker, accessed July 2026). The audience that depends on those tracks is vast: at least 2.2 billion people worldwide live with near or distance vision impairment (WHO, February 2026), including 50.18 million American adults who report trouble seeing even when wearing glasses (American Foundation for the Blind, 2022 NHIS data). Regulation is still catching up, US broadcast rules will not reach all 210 television markets until January 1, 2035 (FCC, Federal Register, 2023). This analysis consolidates data from the ACB Audio Description Project, the World Health Organization, the FCC, and 8 other primary sources to map where audio description stands in 2026.
TL;DR
- The ACB Audio Description Project directory tracks 14,428 described titles across 20+ platforms and formats, in 57 languages (ADP tracker, July 2026).
- Prime Video leads streaming with 7,962 described titles; Netflix follows with 3,166 and Disney+ with 1,471 (ADP tracker, July 2026).
- Covered US broadcasters must air 87.5 hours of described programming per quarter, 50 of them in prime time or children’s slots (FCC, 2023).
- The FCC mandate covered the top 120 US television markets as of January 1, 2026 and reaches all 210 on January 1, 2035 (FCC, Federal Register, 2023).
- Every US movie theater showing digital films has been required to offer audio description since June 2, 2018 (DOJ ADA final rule, 2016).
- UK broadcasters face a statutory ten-year target of 10% audio description; the Media Act 2024 extends 10% AD to major streaming services (Ofcom; UK government).
- Tier 1 UK streamers that miss access quotas risk fines of 250,000 pounds per breach or 5% of qualifying revenue (UK government, 2024).
- At least 2.2 billion people worldwide have near or distance vision impairment; about 1 billion cases were preventable or remain unaddressed (WHO, 2026).
- An estimated 7.08 million Americans live with visual acuity loss, 1.08 million of them with blindness (JAMA Ophthalmology, 2021).
- In RNIB’s synthetic speech study, 17 of 37 blind and partially sighted participants said they would use synthetic voices for AD (RNIB, 2025).
- FIFA World Cup 2026 matches will carry live audio descriptive commentary (ACB Audio Description Project, 2026).
1. The Audience: Vision Loss in the US and Worldwide
The audience for audio description is far larger than blindness registries suggest. The WHO’s fact sheet on blindness and vision impairment, updated February 2026, counts at least 2.2 billion people with near or distance vision impairment, and prices the annual global productivity loss at 411 billion dollars. In the US, 50.18 million adults report trouble seeing even when wearing glasses or contact lenses (AFB analysis of the 2022 National Health Interview Survey), roughly seven times the count of measured visual acuity loss. Clinical and self-reported measures differ, but every band of that spectrum benefits from described video, and only a fraction of it shows up in our screen reader statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| People with near or distance vision impairment worldwide | At least 2.2 billion | WHO, 2026 |
| Cases preventable or not yet addressed | ~1 billion | WHO, 2026 |
| Unaddressed near-vision impairment (presbyopia) | 826 million | WHO, 2026 |
| Annual global productivity loss from vision impairment | US$411 billion | WHO, 2026 |
| US adults reporting trouble seeing even with correction | 50.18 million | AFB, 2022 NHIS |
| Americans with best-corrected visual acuity loss | 7.08 million | JAMA Ophthalmology, 2021 |
| Americans living with blindness | 1.08 million | JAMA Ophthalmology, 2021 |
| People registered blind or partially sighted in the UK | ~350,000 | UK government, 2024 |
Note: the US visual acuity estimates model 2017 data and were published in 2021 by the CDC-funded Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System; they remain the most recent comprehensive US estimate available.
2. Streaming: Described Catalogs by Platform
Streaming is where audio description grew fastest, and where the gap between platforms is starkest. The ACB Audio Description Project tracker, the de facto census of described video, lists 14,428 titles across more than 20 platforms and formats as of July 2026, with coverage in 57 languages. Prime Video’s 7,962 described titles exceed the next two largest catalogs, Netflix (3,166) and the Apple TV app’s purchase store (2,757), combined. The long tail is thin: free ad-supported services like Tubi (106) and Pluto (79) barely register, and Netflix itself only commits to AD on most originals, not its full catalog (Netflix Help Center); how that catalog stacks up overall is covered in our Netflix statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Prime Video audio-described titles | 7,962 | ACB ADP tracker, July 2026 |
| Netflix audio-described titles | 3,166 | ACB ADP tracker, July 2026 |
| Apple TV app store (purchase) described titles | 2,757 | ACB ADP tracker, July 2026 |
| Disney+ audio-described titles | 1,471 | ACB ADP tracker, July 2026 |
| HBO Max audio-described titles | 1,209 | ACB ADP tracker, July 2026 |
| Hulu audio-described titles | 705 | ACB ADP tracker, July 2026 |
| Paramount+ / Peacock described titles | 582 / 323 | ACB ADP tracker, July 2026 |
| Total described titles tracked, all platforms | 14,428 in 57 languages | ACB ADP tracker, July 2026 |
Context: physical media still matters, the tracker lists 2,052 described DVDs, more than most streaming services carry, and PBS adds 180 described listings.
3. US Broadcast Law: The CVAA and the FCC’s 87.5-Hour Rule
US television operates under a quota that predates the streaming boom and expands on a fixed clock. Under FCC rules implementing the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, covered stations must air 87.5 hours of audio-described programming per calendar quarter, 50 of them during prime time or children’s programming, which works out to less than an hour of described content per day. The mandate will not cover all 210 US television markets until January 1, 2035, a quarter century after the CVAA became law. The obligation falls on ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC affiliates plus cable and satellite systems with 50,000 or more subscribers, which must describe programming on the top five nonbroadcast networks, currently Hallmark, HGTV, TBS, TLC, and TNT (ACB Audio Description Project).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Described programming required per quarter | 87.5 hours | FCC, Federal Register, 2023 |
| Of which in prime time or children’s programming | 50 hours | FCC, Federal Register, 2023 |
| Covered broadcast networks | ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC affiliates | FCC, Federal Register, 2023 |
| Covered cable/satellite systems | 50,000+ subscribers, top-5 cable networks | FCC, Federal Register, 2023 |
| Markets (DMAs) covered as of January 1, 2026 | Top 120 of 210 | FCC, Federal Register, 2023 |
| Annual expansion pace | 10 DMAs per year | FCC, Federal Register, 2023 |
| All 210 DMAs covered | January 1, 2035 | FCC, Federal Register, 2023 |
Context: the FCC found the cost of adding description “held steady between 2017 and 2019” and concluded the record contained no support for a slower phase-in.
4. Movie Theaters: The ADA Audio Description Mandate
Cinema went from voluntary to mandatory in a single rulemaking. The Department of Justice’s 2016 final rule under the ADA required every US movie theater showing digital films to provide audio description and stock working listening devices by June 2, 2018. The rule reached roughly 40,000 US movie auditoriums at a projected 15-year cost of just 88.5 to 113.4 million dollars, a rounding error against annual box office revenue. Because about 98% of indoor auditoriums had already converted to digital projection by mid-2015, the mandate effectively covers the entire commercial exhibition market.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance deadline, digital theaters | June 2, 2018 | DOJ ADA final rule, 2016 |
| Deadline for later analog-to-digital converts | December 2, 2018, or 6 months after conversion | DOJ ADA final rule, 2016 |
| US movie auditoriums at adoption | ~40,000 | DOJ ADA final rule, 2016 |
| Auditoriums run by National Association of Theatre Owners members | 32,000 | DOJ ADA final rule, 2016 |
| Indoor auditoriums already digital by mid-2015 | ~98% | DOJ ADA final rule, 2016 |
| Estimated 15-year compliance cost | US$88.5M-$113.4M | DOJ ADA final rule, 2016 |
Note: analog-only auditoriums remain exempt, and the rule mandates devices and playback, not that every film be produced with a description track.
5. The UK and Europe: Quotas Reach Broadcast and Streaming
The UK regulates described hours harder than the US and just extended the model to streaming. Ofcom’s Code on Television Access Services sets ten-year statutory targets of 10% audio description, 80% subtitling, and 5% signing for licensed channels, and the Media Act 2024 applies the same percentages to Tier 1 on-demand services with more than 500,000 UK users, including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, ITVX, and Channel 4. Miss the quota and the penalty reaches 250,000 pounds per breach or 5% of qualifying revenue (UK government, 2024). The EU’s revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive takes a softer line, requiring services to become “continuously and progressively more accessible” with member-state reports every three years (EUR-Lex, Directive 2018/1808); the subtitling side of these same quotas is broken down in our captions and subtitles statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| UK broadcast ten-year targets (subtitling / AD / signing) | 80% / 10% / 5% | Ofcom, Code on Television Access Services |
| Tier 1 on-demand quotas under the Media Act 2024 | 80% subtitles, 10% AD, 5% signing | UK government, 2024 |
| Tier 1 threshold | More than 500,000 UK users | UK government, 2024 |
| Compliance window | 4 years, interim targets at 2 years | UK government, 2024 |
| Maximum penalty per breach | £250,000 or 5% of qualifying revenue | UK government, 2024 |
| UK people with disabilities affecting sight or hearing | 18 million | UK government, 2024 |
| EU AVMSD accessibility reporting cycle | Every 3 years from December 19, 2022 | EUR-Lex, Directive 2018/1808 |
Context: the UK government calls the on-demand percentages “minimum targets” and says it expects services to exceed them where possible.
6. Synthetic Voices: Testing the Next Describer
Describing the vast majority of video that still ships without AD will take more narration capacity than human describers can supply, which is why broadcasters are testing synthetic speech. RNIB’s study on synthetic speech for audio description, run with content and technical support from the BBC, ITV, and Warner Bros. Discovery and an expert advisor from the University of Salford’s Acoustics Research Centre, put six synthetically voiced clips in front of blind and partially sighted participants without telling them a machine was speaking. 21 of 37 participants graded the synthetic drama clip as human-like, yet 12 of the same group said they would not use synthetic voices at all. The report lands on a pragmatic position, recommending minimum quality standards so synthetic AD expands coverage rather than degrading it, and the question extends to interactive media tracked in our gaming accessibility statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Survey respondents (blind and partially sighted) | 37 | RNIB, 2025 |
| Rated synthetic drama clip “human-like” (A+) | 21 of 37 | RNIB, 2025 |
| Would use synthetic speech for audio description | 17 of 37 | RNIB, 2025 |
| Would not use synthetic voices at all | 12 of 37 | RNIB, 2025 |
| Never turn off AD when it is available | 20 of 37 | RNIB, 2025 |
| Clips and genres tested | 6 clips across 6 genres | RNIB, 2025 |
Note: the sample is small (37 respondents), so treat the percentages as directional; the study’s genre-by-genre grading is the first of its kind from a major blindness charity. Live description is scaling too: FIFA World Cup 2026 matches will carry audio descriptive commentary (ACB Audio Description Project, 2026).
Summary: Audio Description by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Described titles tracked across all platforms | 14,428 | ACB ADP tracker, July 2026 |
| Languages covered in the ADP directory | 57 | ACB ADP tracker, July 2026 |
| Prime Video described titles | 7,962 | ACB ADP tracker, July 2026 |
| Netflix described titles | 3,166 | ACB ADP tracker, July 2026 |
| Disney+ described titles | 1,471 | ACB ADP tracker, July 2026 |
| Described DVDs in the tracker | 2,052 | ACB ADP tracker, July 2026 |
| US quarterly described-hours requirement | 87.5 hours | FCC, Federal Register, 2023 |
| US markets covered by the mandate (Jan 2026) | Top 120 of 210 | FCC, Federal Register, 2023 |
| All 210 US markets covered | January 1, 2035 | FCC, Federal Register, 2023 |
| US movie theater AD compliance deadline | June 2, 2018 | DOJ ADA final rule, 2016 |
| US auditoriums covered by the ADA rule | ~40,000 | DOJ ADA final rule, 2016 |
| UK broadcast AD target | 10% of programming | Ofcom, Code on TV Access Services |
| UK Tier 1 streaming AD quota | 10% of catalogue | UK government, 2024 |
| Maximum UK penalty per breach | £250,000 or 5% of revenue | UK government, 2024 |
| People with vision impairment worldwide | At least 2.2 billion | WHO, 2026 |
| Global productivity loss from vision impairment | US$411 billion/year | WHO, 2026 |
| Americans with visual acuity loss / blindness | 7.08M / 1.08M | JAMA Ophthalmology, 2021 |
| US adults reporting trouble seeing with correction | 50.18 million | AFB, 2022 NHIS |
| Would use synthetic speech for AD (RNIB study) | 17 of 37 | RNIB, 2025 |
| Never turn off AD when available (RNIB study) | 20 of 37 | RNIB, 2025 |
Methodology and Sources
Data was gathered by aggregating figures directly from primary regulatory texts, government datasets, peer-reviewed research, and named organizational trackers published or updated in 2016-2026, cross-referencing overlapping metrics where possible and flagging any figure whose underlying data predates 2022.
- ACB Audio Description Project, Master List of Audio Described Video (tracker accessed July 2026)
- World Health Organization, Blindness and Vision Impairment fact sheet (February 2026)
- American Foundation for the Blind, Statistics on Blindness and Vision Loss (2022 NHIS analysis)
- Flaxman et al., Prevalence of Visual Acuity Loss or Blindness in the US, JAMA Ophthalmology (2021, CDC Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System)
- FCC, Video Description: Implementation of the CVAA, Federal Register final rule (October 2023)
- DOJ, Movie Captioning and Audio Description, ADA final rule, Federal Register (December 2016)
- Ofcom, Code on Television Access Services (April 2024 edition)
- UK government, New requirements for UK’s biggest video on demand services (2024)
- EUR-Lex, Audiovisual Media Services Directive (EU) 2018/1808, Article 7 (2018)
- RNIB, Study Report: Synthetic Speech for Audio Description (published January 2025)
- Netflix Help Center, Audio Descriptions
Data watch: the ADP tracker updates continuously, so per-platform counts move month to month; the FCC mandate adds ten television markets every January 1 through 2035; Ofcom publishes television access services reports twice a year; EU member states filed their latest AVMSD accessibility reports in December 2025; and the WHO refreshed its blindness fact sheet in February 2026.
Last updated: July 19, 2026. We update this page quarterly as new data is published.