Subtitling is the most popular method for multimedia content translation and the cheapest solution used by the media industry to make audiovisual content widely accessible across a variety of languages.

The increasing use and transmission of digital multimedia and multilingual content through the Internet, the popularity of DVDs and the current European and National policies aiming to promote subtitling of all content broadcast by public TVs have driven the growth in demand for subtitling in recent years.

However, the audiovisual industry is facing some important issues in relation to subtitling which prevent the expansion of the market and hinder new business opportunities:

• Cost and time :  subtitling is a costly process, both in human and economic terms.
• Demand and deadlines :  there is increasing demand but this is accompanied by tight deadlines.  Companies have difficulty in complying with market demands.
• Quality : due to price dumping and pressure on clients’ budgets, subtitling companies cannot always employ properly qualified people and do not provide them with enough time to produce high-quality subtitles.