Accessibility in 2026: The Mark of a Credible Business

For the majority of audiences, consuming digital media is easy. We scroll through endless TikToks on our phone or turn on Netflix and easily enjoy video content.

But it’s 2026, and media accessibility shouldn’t be an afterthought anymore. It’s not a passing trend — it’s the new direction for entertainment and advertising. In 2024, an estimated 28% of Americans have some type of disability, according to the CDC.

That’s over a quarter of the population that could potentially miss your message.

Not to mention that if your video is meant for an online audience, up to 75% of consumers watch online videos with the sound off. They read captions and subtitles instead.

So, what makes media accessible?

Closed captions (CCs) are the most recognized and widely used media accessibility measure. They’re not even used exclusively by deaf and hard of hearing audiences anymore. Audiences are increasingly turning on closed captions to hear dialogue more clearly, to understand different accents, or to be able to watch videos in public without sound. This is especially true for younger audiences, for whom captions are pretty much a non-negotiable.

34% of US adults always turn on captions, whether or not they have a disability. (Source: AP News)

Audio description (AD) is also a growing accessibility measure we’ve been seeing, to cater to the nearly 52 million Americans with visual impairments. We’re seeing it in recent films like Zootopia 2 and the Marvel Cinematic Universe catalog.

Both closed captions and audio description can be added to a piece of media as a separate file and turned on and off by audiences on streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. Meanwhile, in movie theatres, audiences who need ADs and CCs are provided a small handheld device that can provide them.

These initiatives are great steps from big-name entertainment studios, and the rest of digital media creators shouldn’t be far behind, particularly corporate and advertising media.

In fact, accessibility is slated to become a top business priority in 2026 and beyond, not only for wider inclusivity and ADA compliance, but also to boost SEO and branding.

Making accessibility part of your process isn’t complicated, nor will it break the bank.

(Source: @Amygdala420 via Reddit)

It’s adding one extra step to your production process — putting captions to your social media videos, hiring live translators to your corporate webinar, encoding closed captions and audio description to your ads — that opens your content to a wider audience.

With accessibility becoming a major factor in how buyers perceive businesses, adding accessibility measures today also future-proofs your business.

Here’s the other thing about centering accessibility: it benefits everyone, not just audiences with disabilities. Take a look at Netflix’s captions for Stranger Things, which had a viral moment during the show’s fourth season because of how specific, descriptive, and well-written they were.

It’s something we’ve experienced ourselves, too.

"AD, being in essence creative writing with the limitations of subtitling, provides me with a fresh appreciation for auditory storytelling. Aside from its primary function as an accessibility tool, when done well, AD can enhance the actual content and add another layer of enjoyment, not just for visually impaired people, but for everyone."

Maria Vardopoulou, Cinepros Audio Description Manager

At Cinepros, we’ve provided accessibility solutions for a number of titles from Disney+, ESPN, and National Geographic, catering to their specific needs and audience. Sometimes, that means adjusting captions and subtitles to fit cultural nuances or industry jargon or adding audio description to an entire library of educational content.

We put a lot of thought into each project because it’s the little details like these that matter in accessibility solutions. Every accessibility project is different, just like every film, TV show, or webinar is different. There is no one-size-fits-all accessibility solution — at least, not meaningfully.

Adding that one extra step to your production process boosts your content’s longevity and builds your brand credibility in the long term.