Avoid EAA Subtitling Fines: How AgileTV helps broadcasters stay compliant and competitive
he European Accessibility Act (EAA) has shifted from future deadline to current legal reality. As of June 28, 2025, accessibility requirements — including subtitles for audiovisual content — are legally enforceable across the European Union. For broadcasters and OTT platforms in France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Nordics and beyond, non-compliance is no longer a theoretical risk: regulators are now empowered to issue significant fines, sanctions, and corrective orders if media services fail to meet accessibility standards.
This is a crunch moment for broadcasters: content owners must implement reliable subtitling workflows urgently to avoid legal trouble and costly penalties. At the same time, they can seize new opportunities to serve broader audiences better and stand out in an increasingly competitive media landscape.
EAA Enforcement: Fines and legal risks broadcasters can’t ignore
The EAA harmonizes accessibility obligations across EU member states and obliges organizations providing digital media services, including television, streaming, and OTT platforms, to make content perceivable and accessible. Subtitles are central to this mandate.
Penalties for non-compliance differ by country, but many of the largest media markets in the EU have already put strong enforcement measures on the books:
France
- Fines can range from €5,000 up to €250,000.
- National authorities like ARCOM and consumer protection bodies can demand corrective actions and public disclosures of non-compliance.
Germany
- Penalties may reach up to €500,000, with market surveillance authorities able to require withdrawal of non-compliant services or restrict availability until issues are fixed.
Italy
- Fines can be €5,000–€40,000 per infraction, or even up to 5% of annual turnover for larger entities.
Austria
- National fines in excess of €200,000 are possible, and repeated violations can increase exposure further.
Nordics (e.g., Sweden, Finland)
- Penalties often range up to €150,000–€200,000, with mandatory audits and corrective mandates for non-compliance.
These figures illustrate why subtitling isn’t just “best practice”, but a business-critical compliance task. In several jurisdictions, regulators can even suspend services or require ongoing compliance reporting for unresolved accessibility gaps.
Why broadcasters need to act now
Failure to provide compliant subtitles can lead to:
- Material fines and sanctions per market — potentially multiplying if operating in several countries.
- Operational blocks or withdrawals, disrupting distribution channels.
- Brand and reputational harm through public enforcement and advocacy group exposure.
- Missed audience reach, especially among viewers who rely on subtitles to access content.
While compliance deadlines have passed for many services, enforcement action continues to ramp up, meaning broadcasters without effective subtitling workflows are increasingly vulnerable to legal and financial trouble.
Subtitling done right: How Cavena by AgileTV helps you comply
Broadcasters and content providers urgently need accessibility solutions that are:
- Fast to deploy
- Scalable across live and on-demand content
- Accurate and compliant with legal accessibility expectations
That’s where Cavena, AgileTV’s subtitling solution suite, delivers real value. The solution is part of AgileTV’s broader Subtitling Solutions offering, designed specifically for broadcast and OTT workflows.
Key Capabilities That Matter to Broadcasters
Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) Subtitling
- Generates subtitles near real-time, making it practical for live broadcasts.
- Integrates via service APIs and works across formats and platforms.
- Supports 100+ languages, with translation into 50+ languages available.
OCR-based Subtitle Conversion
- Converts image-based subtitles into text files instantly, enabling compliance even when legacy workflows don’t natively generate text captions.
Seamless Workflow Integration
- ASR and OCR services plug into existing broadcast and OTT infrastructures with minimal disruption.
- Delivery in standard formats (WebVTT, SRT, etc.) ensures compatibility with modern players and accessibility frameworks.
Cost and Efficiency Benefits
- Automated solutions reduce reliance on costly human transcription alone.
- Scalable for both live events and large VOD libraries, essential for media houses with heavy content pipelines.
The near-real-time subtitle generation and support for rich workflows means broadcasters can document and demonstrate accessibility compliance across markets, a key aspect of avoiding regulatory action.
Accessibility isn’t just compliance, it’s competitive advantage
Investing in accessibility and subtitling delivers benefits that go beyond avoiding fines:
- Wider Reach: Subtitles make content accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences — a significant viewer segment.
- Better Engagement: Multilingual support boosts viewership and retention across markets.
- Improved Metadata & Searchability: Transcribed content enhances content indexing and discovery.
- Stronger Brand Equity: Demonstrating commitment to inclusion can bolster audience trust and loyalty.
In a market where accessibility expectations are rising, inclusive content isn’t simply about meeting the law — it’s about delivering what audiences increasingly expect.
