53 No. 153 — November 2014 Katie Ellis Abstract Whereas entertainment has featured negatively in the broader NBN debate currently occurring in Australia, within the disability sector it has been recognised as revolutionary. Government, industry and technical analysts describe digital television, particularly that delivered via broadband, as potentially enabling to people with vision and hearing impairments through the more widespread provision of accessibility features such as audio description and closed captions. This article interrogates the approach to accessibility taken by two case studies of broadband-based television: Netlix and catch-up TV. Netlix, which is not oficially available in Australia, is often presented as the future of television, while catch-up services provide an example of the current broadband-based television paradigm in this country. Although accessibility features may be available on broadcast television or DVD release, each of these forms of broadband-based television has either previously (Netlix) or currently (catch-up) stripped accessible functions to stream online. The discussion relects on both activist interventions of people with disability and the industry standards. Recent discussions of television in the context of the changes occurring in technologies of media and communications note the increasing personalisation and individualisation of the medium (Lotz, 2007; Marshall, 2013; Morsillo and Barr, 2013; Napoli, 2011; Sepinwall, 2012). With user preference driving the digital innovations of television, the opportunities for viewers with disability to access television via broadband and digital platforms are extensive. Fernandez et al. (2013: 117) locate broadband television within the wider international shift to digital television: The substitution of the analogue signal [with] the digital enables besides of (sic) better image and sound quality, additional features such as interactivity, audio description and subtitling for people with visual and audio impairments. While audio description provides a track of narration that describes important visual elements of a TV show, captions (or subtitles) present the audio component of audio- visual content as text on screen. Following a review of access to electronic media for the hearing and vision impaired, the Australian government indicated that broadband (and the NBN in particular) would potentially drive the uptake of accessible services such as audio-described content (DBCDE, 2010: 37). While submissions from Google and Telstra indicated that ‘the most effective way of improving accessibility of the internet material is for the Australian government to promote an environment in which industry research, development and innovation continues’ (2010: 38), Free TV argued against television accessibility online. This article argues that accessible broadband- TELEVISION’S TRANSITION TO THE INTERNET: DISABILITY ACCESSIBILITY AND BROADBAND-BASED TV IN AUSTRALIA