It’s that time of year, for the Best of Lists. Check out my post from yesterday, which ranked the other film critics I share space with on YouTube. I selected Adam Does Movies as my favorite Film YouTuber of 2023. Which streaming service earned top honors this year? And, more importantly, which one is on the bottom?
As a blind film critic, I am primarily concerned with accessibility, and the commitment to it. I want to be able to tell another blind individual that a certain service prioritizes them at a level worth their money. So, that, in addition to the programming they carry, will factor into my rankings. Who is making the greatest effort in 2023? It’s a pretty substantial list, as I am also including a few free streamers like FreeVee, Roku, and Tubi.
1) Apple Plus
Almost cheating, as they do not have any licensed content, but as they continue to add more and more shows, without removing older titles from their service, they are building up a catalog worth rewarding them with a first place trophy this year. I’ve been really impressed with some of their new programming like Silo, Lessons In Chemistry, and very likely the final season of Ted Lasso. I do also rent my films through Apple, when I choose a specific title, and they have come in handy having audio description available on titles that a streaming service does not. Of course, I shouldn’t have to go elsewhere to pay for accessibility when I’m already paying for the service, but Apple has made every effort to include its audiences, even by putting English Audio Description on international offerings.
2) MAX
Trying to figure out who needs the runner-up spot is actually harder than choosing a winner. MAX is making some effort to actually go back through their catalog and add description for the complete runs of shows, which I’m honestly not seeing on other streamers. Showtime certainly doesn’t seem in a rush to do it, and Netflix has had Gilmore Girls forever and openly ignores a petition to add accessibility to it. MAX however has audio description not just on older HBO titles, but everything from One Tree Hill to Family Matters. Could they be doing better? Absolutely. They have several major obvious classics always on their service that scream audio description, as well as some series like Adventure Time, where it would seem to behoove them to add audio description fin they are going to continue to make more series in that universe. Possibly the most baffling lack of audio description comes in the form of Annabelle, as the entire conjuring universe has audio description on MAX, except the very first Annabelle movie. There’s a trend with streamers to not start with the first film, or the first season, yet sighted audiences quite frequently like to start at the beginning. I’ve never opened a book and just started reading at the halfway point, and I wish executives did a better job of common sense.
3) Netflix
Despite the fact that I have many problems with Netflix and their lack of accessibility on a number of titles, one of their strongest suits is also a weakness. They build such a rich library of international content, and offer it all to American audiences. For a cinephile like me, I’d love to have my worldview expanded by watching stories made by filmmakers around the world, but Netflix routinely does not add English AD to these. They have Society Of The Snow, which is directed by JA Bayona (A Monster Calls), and I have zero faith they will put audio description with that, as they ignored other high profile international entries from renowned directors with El Conde, Bardo, and most egregiously, Alfonso Cuaron’s Best Picture nominee Roma, which still has no English audio description track. However, most of these international titles do carry audio description in at least their original language, so the shows from these different countries can be available to those in America for who English is a second language. I think that’s pretty great, and while as an English speaker I always push for the most obvious audio description for Americans, but I also believe blindness doesn’t have a country, it affects everyone, and everyone should have access to the accessibility they need.
4) Disney Plus
I’d love to rank them higher, but I’m not sure if they are still going through their back catalog. I’ve noticed more problems than not on their service. the new Hulu beta doesn’t work with my screen reader for Roku, their new Oscar documentary hopeful The Mission lacks audio description,and they still have several classics that need to be audio described. Earlier this year, i was disappointed to find out Big didn’t have audio description, and this holiday season showed me that neither does Miracle on 34th Street. They are also the home to classic Disney cartoons that could use accessibility, as well as classic sitcoms like Boy Meets World and Home Improvement, or dramas like glee, Alias, and Once upon A Time. And if I see one more person screaming about the final season of Star Wars Rebels still not having audio description, I’m going to lose my mind.
5) Amazon/Prime
A controversial choice to have this high. They are closing their audio description track largely by using robodescription provided by Skynet. I swear, the Terminators are running Amazon. But seriously, between the ability to buy/rent, as well as adding prime channels, and their library of licensed and original content, the quality of their audio description can vary wildly. I do believe though, that technically, they do have the most audio described titles.That is a statistic I can’t ignore., robots or otherwise.I would always love for things to be human, especially more prominent feature films and classics, as well as classic TV series, but there are some truly obscure programs across these services, and it’s a miracle those things can even be viewed.
6) Paramount Plus (including Showtime)
Paramount Plus has decided to do… I’m not really sure what. Their audio description is all over the place, but at least it is usually human. Some of it is poorly and cheaply recorded, like the first season of Tulsa King. My big problems with Paramount Plus are pretty obvious. Back. Catalog. Not only do they owe it to the Star Trek fans, but the Showtime library seems to start at a certain point and work forward, and classic shows like Dexter can go pound sand. Also. Blind kids exist, and since Paramount is the home to two major TV show franchises with SpongeBob SquarePants and Paw patrol, there should be a huge priority to get those things described from start to finish. Adding Showtime too frequently means that you are adding a smattering of undesribed shows, and with A24 moving to MAX, they are about to lose their most consistent provider of audio description. Danger, Will Robinson. Danger.
7) Hulu
I am running out of streamers to put ahead of Hulu, but their behavior is gross. The fact is that they do have quite a bit of audio description from their original content, more than the streamers that follow. But they have zero fucks given about acquiring audio description, to the point where even something as simple as “FX On Hulu” may not grant audio description. They host a ton of titles that technically have recorded audio description tracks, as well as frequently allowing films to premiere without the audio description track, even though they are coming from Disney. Recently, The Creator just dropped without audio description on its day of release, and other Disney/Fox titles A Haunting In Venice and Chevalier have premiered only to add accessibility at a random later date. It’s not like we can sign up for text messaging or something to be alerted to when Jim Bob wakes up and does his job. Hulu has core problems that I’m honestly afraid will infect Disney Plus. They could very well make that service worse, and likely will, when they combine. Hulu is the one company that makes me feel like it really doesn’t want my business.
8) Peacock
I get it. You are a newer streamer. Even your subscription numbers are lower. But, Universal Pictures existed before the launch of Peacock. The reason Peacock is so low on my list is that audio description seems to only exist with the start of Peacock. They have very VERY few titles available that premiered before the service launched. Seeing the films that built Universal like Jaws and Jurassic Park being hosted without audio description is mind boggling.
9) Tubi
Shoutout to a free streamer, though I wish they did more acquisition. They basically launched their audio description this year, and most of the titles are Tubi originals which, well, I watched a film called the Shark Side Of The Moon this year, and it had audio description. MAX doesn’t have audio description on Gremlins, but I can watch man sharks fight on the moon. Still, they are free. Can’t beat that.
10) FreeVee
The other free streamer is owned by Amazon, which makes its inclusion lower, as we are seeing robodescription back. I also notice that there’s a difference in audio description in how you access some of these programs. I’ve been trying to watch the second season of Bosch Legacy with audio description, as others have, but it has no alternate audio description if you choose to use the stand alone app. Weird.
11) MGM Plus
Another Amazon streamer, but they actually do have some audio description, as long as you pick them up as a prime video channel.They need to start describing their shows, as only one technically does.
Not making the cut:
Starz, AMC Plus, Broadway HD, The Roku Channel, BET Plus, and BritBox. These services all offer either no audio description, or audi
Next year,
