Danny Cohen: sound matters

Audience concerns

I've always been aware that there are complaints about television sound but I was surprised by our recent audience research, which showed that nearly 60% of viewers had some difficulty hearing what was being said in programmes.

Some may complain, but many more may simply switch over.

Viewers with hearing loss will have even more difficulty and according to our friends at the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, hearing loss affects 14% of the UK population. So it is clear that issues around audibility affect a lot of our viewers right across the demographic.

As Controller of BBC One it is important to me that our programmes are of the highest quality and that means paying just as much attention to producing beautiful, clear, audible sound as it does to producing stunning visuals.

Making a difference

Our research looked into exactly what causes audibility problems. It has given us really clear information on what we can do, without sacrificing our creative or editorial aspirations. Furthermore it is not just about background music. It turns out that there are four key factors that can make it hard for viewers to hear what is being said.

Risk factors

- Unclear speech: mumbling or muffled dialogue, people talking over each other
- Unfamiliar accents: viewers find accents they're not used to harder to understand
- Background noise: locations with heavy traffic, babbling streams, farmyard animals
- Background music: particularly spiky, heavily percussive music or lyrics that cut across dialogue

Any of these can create problems for viewers, but when factors combine then people struggle to understand.

Best practice: time to change

I want all viewers to have the best chance of hearing our programmes. On this site is the BBC's best practice guide.

It is practical advice, based directly on what viewers are telling us, from some of the best in our business. I urge you all to watch their videos and put the advice into practise in your own programmes.

- Plan for clear sound: Scott Talbott on planning ahead
- Record clear sound: For factual | For drama | In the studio | Self shooting
- Post produce for clear sound: Making the most of post | When the audience complains

Best practice: quick reference guide

Here's a summary of the key tips to get really clear, audible sound.