Whether you’re reading this from Tāmaki Makaurau’s Alert Level 3, or wider Aotearoa’s Level 2, we hope you are staying safe. We recognise that access to the media means access to a world of information, entertainment and connection, and we are continuing to work towards our vision of an inclusive New Zealand where everyone has equal access to audio-visual media.

The Able team is continuing to work to provide Captions and Audio Description, and the altered alert levels will not affect the schedules during this time. Captions will be available on all news coverage on TVNZ1.

To see our picks for this week in TV, click here.

If you’d like to receive Able’s weekly newsletter which includes weekly AD highlights and a full timetable of Audio Description, enter your details here.

If you would like assistance accessing Captions or Audio Description on your TV, reach out to us at hello@able.co.nz – our friendly team is always happy to help.

Kia kaha Aotearoa!

Next in the journal:

A graphic image of an old-school TV with a scene of Pulp Fiction on it.

Blind people watch TV too

Audio description comes as standard on shows streaming on Netflix and other international services. So, Able Chief Executive…

Dan Buckingham, Jai Waite and Rachale Davis are on a stage together. Dan has brown hair, a white button-up shirt and is using a wheelchair, turned away from the camera. Jai is wearing a blue button-up top, using a wheelchair, and is in the middle of speaking. Rachale has blonde shoulder-length hair and a yellow top, looking over at Jai.

Navigating authentic representation of disability

During the annual SPADA conference this year, our CEO Dan Buckingham facilitated a panel with Jai Waite from…

Picture of Virginia Philp (who was part of AD's inception) smiling. She has shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes.

Decade of Able: Virginia Philp, team leader, audio describers

Virginia Philp leads our small crew of audio describers. She overseas everything audio description: recruiting, training and managing…

David wears glasses and a hearing aid, and smiles.

Decade of Able: David Kent, trustee

David Kent is a trustee on the Able board. Since 2005, David has chaired the Southern Hearing Charitable…

A photo of Clive Lansink, who has short grey hair and a grey moustache. He is wearing a blue, yellow and red checkered flannel button-up T shirt.

Decade of Able: Clive Lansink, Chair, Blind Low Vision NZ

Kia ora, Clive. I’ve heard that you were instrumental in audio description advocacy, prior to its introduction to…

A photo of Wendy Youens, who has straight brown hair just below her shoulders and blue eyes. She is smiling, wearing a bright blue top.

Decade of Able: Wendy Youens, founding CEO

Wendy Youens was the founding CEO of Able, having led its establishment as an independent organisation in 2013.…