In various embodiments, a subtitle conformance application causes modifications to a subtitle list based on changes associated with an audiovisual program. In operation, the subtitle conformance application performs comparison operation(s) between versions of a subtitle template to identify changes to subtitles associated with the audiovisual program. The subtitle conformance application then determines a mapping between a first change included in the changes and a subtitle list associated with the audiovisual program. Finally, the subtitle conformance application causes the subtitle list to be modified based on the first change and the mapping. Advantageously, the subtitle conformance application enables productive development of subtitles to begin before the audiovisual program is finalized.