BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky among signatories of open letter 

Nine key broadcasters and streamers have said they will boycott production spaces that have not completed the TV Access Project’s (TAP’s) accessibility audit by August 2025.  

The TAP Production Buildings Audit Checklist aims to train facilities to self-assess the accessibility features that can represent barriers to deaf, disable and/ or neurodivergent cast and crew.  

sky studios

Sky Studios Elstree is one of the studios that has engaged with TAP

It was unveiled in December and Broadcast understands that 61 production spaces have taken part in training sessions in Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow and London over the past year. 

In an open letter to facilities, leaders of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Paramount, The Walt Disney Company, UKTV, BritBox International, Sky and STV said: “We will be speaking about production spaces work at Edinburgh and are keen to champion spaces that have completed the audit checklist. 

“It’s our aim as TAP members that by Edinburgh 2025 we will only be working with production spaces who have completed a self-audit.” 

The only TAP member who has not signed up to the commitment is Amazon Prime Video.* 

“Doing an audit does not necessarily mean you have to make any changes to your space – it simply means that you will be able to be clear on access to disabled cast and crew coming into your space,” continued the letter.  

Heloise Beaton

Heloise Beaton

“We understand the challenges facilities face in joining us in our vision for full inclusion by 2030, and know that careful planning will be needed to ensure every space within our industry is accessible to deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent talent.  

“Completing the audit will help you identify any necessary adjustments and improvements and plan a roadmap for your space to improve accessibility.”

TAP is an alliance of 10 broadcasters and streamers aiming to improve industry access that was founded following Jack Thorne’s MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh 2021 TV Festival. Heloise Beaton took over from Tanya Motie and Ally Castle as TAP’s project lead in January. 

A spokesperson told Broadcast that among the 61 production spaces to have already taken part in training sessions are the likes of Sky Studios Elstree, 3 Mills Studios, Ealing Studios, Dock10, Stage Fifty, Warner Bros Leavesden and BBC Studio Works.

TAP will be providing further free training sessions over the next year which take roughly half a day to complete. The letter invites studios to sign up to the mailing list in order to take part.  

The letter’s signatories are: 

  • Charlotte Moore, chief content officer, BBC 

  • Ian Katz, chief content officer, Channel 4 

  • Kevin Lygo, managing director of media and entertainment, ITV 

  • Liam Keelan, senior vice president of original productions, The Walt Disney Company EMEA 

  • Richard Watsham, chief creative officer UKTV 

  • Robert Schildhouse, president of BritBox North America GM BritBox International 

  • Cécile Frot-Coutaz, chief executive of Sky Studios & chief content officer for Sky 

  • Ben Frow, chief content officer, UK, Paramount 

  • Bobby Hain, managing director of broadcast, STV

 *Update 14 August: Amazon Prime Video has signed up to the commitment since this article was published

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