Vulnerable consumers and future TV interfaces

Ofcom is currently undertaking a programme of work exploring the future of television distribution and viewing, given an environment where viewing is increasingly moving away from traditional broadcast platforms and towards a combination of on demand and IP-delivered platforms and services. This change of viewing is impacting different viewers at different rates, depending on their viewing habits and levels of confidence with technology. There is a risk that some viewers are left behind as services become more difficult or complicated to access.

Ofcom has a requirement for research, analysis and design principle development to help understand the impact of TV interfaces on how consumers in vulnerable circumstances ('vulnerable consumers') find and watch TV services and to develop initial proposals for how interfaces could be designed in the future to address these concerns.

This work will explore the biggest barriers and difficulties vulnerable consumers are likely to have with TV interfaces and set out some principles for interface design that might address these barriers in the future. The work will be informed by existing understanding of user needs and good design principles and may be supplemented by additional primary research with audiences.