The use of media increasingly takes place via apps on smartphones. For people with sensorial disabilities, the question of accessibility is of vital importance in terms of their ability to obtain information and participate in political and cultural life.

Each year, the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) supports research projects in the field of radio and television. Broadcasters are charged an annual licence fee by the Confederation, based on their advertising and subscription revenues. The revenue is to be used primarily to promote media research and secondarily for new technologies. In this way, the funds generated by the system are fed back into it. In this context, OFCOM is also interested in studying the state of accessibility of smartphone apps offered by broadcasters of television programmes and other media, and in finding out how people with sensory disabilities can obtain information.