Audio Describing in the UK: Career Guide for 2026

In 2025, BBC broadcast live audio description for all three nights of the Eurovision Song Contest — a first. ITV delivered live AD for the UEFA Women’s EURO. The BBC trialled live AD for Glastonbury coverage. These aren’t edge experiments. They’re signals that the UK’s audio description industry is expanding into territory that was technically impossible a few years ago.

The UK has been a world leader in audio description since the 1990s. Ofcom’s statutory quotas, the ITC guidelines that define quality standards, and a culture of voluntary over-delivery by major broadcasters have created the most mature AD market in the English-speaking world. And with the Media Act 2024 extending AD requirements to streaming platforms for the first time, demand is about to grow substantially — which is why AI-powered tools like Visonic AI are becoming part of the production landscape, helping teams describe more content without sacrificing quality.

The UK Audio Description Landscape

Ofcom Quotas: The Regulatory Foundation

The Communications Act 2003 requires qualifying broadcast channels to provide audio description on 10% of their programming — phased in over ten years from when a channel first becomes obligated. Ofcom publishes annual compliance reports, and in 2024, all channels met or exceeded their requirements.

But the statutory 10% is really a floor. BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Sky have all voluntarily committed to audio describing at least 20% of their content — double the legal minimum. BBC One describes over 22% of its output. BBC Four reaches around 40%.

The Media Act 2024: Streaming Enters the Picture

This is the most significant regulatory development for UK audio description in years. The Media Act 2024 extends Ofcom’s regulatory reach to video-on-demand platforms for the first time, creating a Tier 1 designation for major streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+.

The headline requirement: Tier 1 services must audio describe at least 5% of their catalogue hours in each of the first two years. Ofcom expects to consult on the detailed VOD Accessibility Code from 2026, with enforceable quotas taking effect around mid-2027.

For audio describers, this means a significant expansion of the addressable market. Every major streaming platform will need AD for a meaningful portion of their UK catalogue — content that currently has none.

The Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 provides a broader framework through its duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. While it doesn’t specifically mandate audio description, it supports the argument that media organisations should provide AD even where Ofcom quotas don’t directly apply — including online-only content, cinema, and theatre.

Who’s Doing the Work

Red Bee Media (Ericsson)

Red Bee Media is the largest access services provider in Europe and the dominant force in UK broadcast audio description. Based in Ealing, London, they produce AD for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky, UKTV, and GB News. They employ AD scripters on staff and use freelancers, and they train in-house. If you want to work in broadcast AD in the UK, Red Bee is the most significant employer.

VocalEyes

VocalEyes is the central organisation for theatre and museum audio description in the UK. They provide AD for live performances at venues across the country — National Theatre, Northern Stage, Leeds Playhouse, Curve Theatre, Open Air Theatre, and dozens more. Their model includes pre-show audio notes, touch tours where audiences explore sets and costumes, and live narration through headsets during the performance.

VocalEyes also runs the most structured training programmes for live AD in the UK and is collaborating with ADA on developing a new audio description curriculum.

Audio Description Association (ADA)

The ADA is the primary professional body for UK audio describers, founded in 1999. They maintain a directory of freelance describers across England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Irish Republic. ADA’s accredited training courses are currently under review, with a new curriculum being developed in partnership with VocalEyes.

RNIB

The Royal National Institute of Blind People plays a critical research and advocacy role. In 2025, RNIB published two landmark studies on AI and audio description (more on this below) and hosted the first RNIB Media Accessibility Symposium — a two-day event bringing together broadcasters, technology companies, researchers, and people with lived experience.

How to Become an Audio Describer in the UK

There is no single nationally recognised certification for audio describers. Entry to the profession happens through training courses, mentorship under experienced describers, and in-house training at major employers.

VocalEyes Training

VocalEyes is the primary external trainer for live and theatre AD:

• Theatre Training: Skills for running audio described performances — scripting, voice delivery, touch tours, and welcoming visually impaired audiences.
• Film Audio Description Training: A 3-hour course covering accessible filmmaking principles and the AD production process.
• Museums, Galleries and Heritage Sites Training: A two-day course for delivering audio-described tours, including a site visit and follow-up support.
• Professional Describer Training (2025-2026): The most structured pathway — a cohort-based programme with the National Theatre and SoundScribe. Five days of in-person training, homework, mock AD performance assessment. Graduates are considered for future freelance work with VocalEyes.

Red Bee Media In-House Training

Red Bee trains AD scripters internally. Job listings for Audio Description Scripter positions appear periodically, requiring candidates to prepare AD scripts meeting standards of accuracy, faithfulness, access, and style. These are typically salaried roles based in Ealing, London.

Other Training Routes

• Access & Inclusivity Matters: Independent training from Trish Hodson, a VocalEyes-trained describer, covering live AD and enhanced AD.
• AVT Masterclass: Online “Introduction to Audio Description” for audiovisual translation professionals.
• University programmes: MA programmes in Audiovisual Translation at University of Leeds and University of Roehampton include audio description modules, though these are academic rather than vocational.

The ITC Guidelines: The Quality Standard

The ITC guidelines for audio description, originally published under the Broadcasting Act 1996, remain the de facto quality standard for UK audio description. They’re the only publicly accessible, non-proprietary set of AD instructions in the UK, and while called “guidelines,” they function as requirements that any working describer must follow.

The guidelines cover what to describe, when to describe, language and style, timing, and technical considerations. Ofcom’s Code on Television Access Services sets the quota requirements; the ITC guidelines define what quality looks like.

If you’re serious about working in UK audio description, mastering these guidelines is non-negotiable.

The Business Side

Rates and Pay

Specific UK audio describer rates are not widely published. The profession is niche, and rates are often negotiated privately. Here’s what can be pieced together:

• Broadcast AD scripting: Typically paid per programme or per minute. Red Bee Media employs scripters on salary — broadcasting operations roles in London typically range £25,000-£40,000, though specific AD salaries aren’t publicly disclosed.
• Theatre AD (freelance): VocalEyes and venues pay per performance, including preparation time for scripting, attending rehearsals, and live delivery.
• Full AD production costs: Industry sources cite £12-£60 per finished minute (roughly $15-$75 USD) — but this is the cost to the client, not the describer’s take-home.
• Voiceover reference: UK voiceover artists typically charge £200-£400+ per hour for studio narration, though AD voicing rates are lower given the accessibility sector context.

Key Employers and Service Providers

Making It Work

The UK AD industry is small and specialised. Red Bee Media dominates broadcast, VocalEyes dominates theatre. Freelance opportunities exist, but the market is competitive. Most working describers combine AD with related skills — voiceover, subtitling, accessibility consulting, or broader audiovisual translation.

The Media Act 2024 will change this equation. When streaming platforms are required to describe 5% of their catalogues, the work available will increase significantly — and not all of it will flow through Red Bee. Independent describers and smaller production companies will have opportunities they don’t have today.

Where AI Fits In

What the Research Shows

RNIB published two important studies in 2024-2025 that frame the AI discussion for the UK market:

AI-Generated Audio Description (August 2025): AI-generated descriptions were often fluent and well-structured, but frequently lacked accuracy, cohesion, and contextual awareness. Character misidentification and over-description were common problems. Blind and partially sighted participants welcomed the idea of AI-generated AD if it meant expanding coverage — but all agreed that human review remains essential.

Synthetic Speech for Audio Description (2024): Synthetic voices were considered acceptable for clarity and consistency, particularly for documentary and factual content. But concerns remained about matching emotional tone for fictional content. RNIB proposed industry-wide benchmarks for synthetic AD covering intelligibility, prosody, and emotional adaptability.

The Practical Implication

As of early 2026, no UK broadcaster has deployed AI-generated AD in production. The technology is in research and trial phases. The consensus direction is hybrid human-AI workflows: AI handles drafting, timing, and technical scaffolding; human describers handle review, editing, and creative judgement.

For describers, this means AI is a productivity tool, not a replacement. A describer working with AI-assisted tools can cover more content than one working purely manually. Visonic AI, for example, uses multimodal AI to generate contextually aware audio descriptions from video — handling the drafting, timing, and multi-language output so that human describers can focus on review and creative refinement. When the Media Act 2024 quotas create new demand from streaming platforms, that productivity advantage will matter.

For a deeper look at how the technology works, see our complete guide to AI for audio description.

What’s Coming Next

2026-2027 is pivotal for UK audio description:

• Ofcom VOD Accessibility Code: Consultation expected in 2026, with enforceable streaming quotas from approximately mid-2027.
• Media Act Tier 1 designations: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ will face AD requirements for the first time.
• ADA curriculum renewal: The new audio description curriculum being developed with VocalEyes will create more structured professional pathways.
• Live AD expansion: After Eurovision, Glastonbury, and sports AD breakthroughs in 2025, expect more live events to include AD as standard.

The UK’s audio description industry is mature but growing. The regulatory framework is the strongest in the English-speaking world, and the Media Act 2024 represents the biggest expansion of AD requirements in two decades. For skilled describers — and for people entering the profession — the opportunity is real.

For comparison, see how the profession is developing in other markets: the US (where ADA Title II creates a massive demand surge in April 2026), Germany (where half of public broadcasters already use AI voices), and Australia (the only major English-speaking country without an AD mandate).

Getting Started

1. Study the ITC guidelines: They define UK AD quality. Know them thoroughly.
2. Apply for VocalEyes training: Their professional describer programme is the most structured entry pathway for theatre AD.
3. Watch for Red Bee Media roles: The largest broadcast AD employer in Europe. Roles appear on standard job boards.
4. Join ADA: Connect with the professional community and access their describer directory.
5. Follow RNIB research: Stay current on quality standards and the AI discussion.
6. Explore AI tools: Try Visonic AI to see how AI-assisted workflows fit into professional practice — upload a video and see what the technology produces.

Ready to see how AI augments professional audio description?

• Explore our products — See how Visonic AI handles audio description, auto-summarisation, and auto-shorts
• Get started with Visonic AI — Sign in and upload your video to experience AI-powered audio description
• Contact our team — Discuss how AI tools can scale your audio description work