Subtitling live broadcasts makes them available to a larger audience at once. For example, in the case of briefings and special broadcasts, this is particularly important in situations where information needs to be shared quickly.

Subtitling programmes after the fact has been known about for decades. Subtitling live broadcasts, on the other hand, is an entirely different practice, as people clearly speak faster than a subtitler can write. A machine faster than humans will fortunately help to solve this problem.

Language technology to support subtitlers

However, live subtitlers must still be fast in their work. The subtitler listens to broadcast speech and dictates it to a speech recognition solution that converts the speech into text. The recognition result is directed to a subtitle program from which the subtitles can be sent. This way, subtitles are created without delay. In addition to speed, the speech recognition result must be extremely accurate in order to provide viewers with high-quality, flawless subtitles. 

In recent years, the requirements for public media corporations to subtitle live broadcasts have expanded. At the same time, they are bound by the obligation to offer their video and audio content in an accessible manner in the dissemination of information, which was underlined by the coronavirus pandemic. Lingsoft’s live subtitling solution has been tested in practice in the subtitling of weather announcements and even presidential palace festivities. 

Live subtitling offers flexibility for watching broadcasts

In addition to television, live broadcasts are also seen online as part of events or in the form of webinars. It is a good idea to get subtitles for interviews or other programme numbers at events, as remote participation is a common and desirable option today. The webinar’s live subtitling, on the other hand, makes it possible to better engage viewers through, for example, chat. Subtitled broadcasts can be easily followed, for example, in situations where your device needs to be kept silent.

It is worth paying attention to accessibility whether a public organisation is concerned or not, as taking different needs and situations into account is an asset. Webinars or online trainings are easier to follow, 

Read more about our comprehensive subtitling service and our speech recognition.