Disney Star has announced the addition of sign language commentary in the broadcast of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, on Wednesday. It will be the first time that a World Cup campaign will offer descriptive commentary in sign language.

The deaf and visually impaired people will now be able to experience the match in a much better, more understandable way after the addition of the features to interpret live commentary for those who can’t hear or see.

sign language commentary
Source: Khel now

Inclusive Viewing Experience: Disney Hotstar Introduces Sign Language Commentary for T20 World Cup

Disney star is collaborating with India Signing Hands (ISH), a broadcast company based in Mumbai, to add Indian Sign Language (ISL) interpretation in the upcoming World Cup. An audio descriptive feed for the visually impaired fans will be added during the matches.

Star network is already using this feature of ISL interpretation in the Indian Premier League matches, However, Disney Hotstar will host this for the very first time becoming the first ever OTT platform to stream this for Live Cricket. 

sign language commentary
Source: The Week

“Being the first OTT platform to introduce this feature for live cricket, we are democratizing the game … and have made this feature available for 10 matches, including India matches, semifinals and finals during the tournament,” Sajith Sivanandan, head of Disney+ Hotstar said as reported by The Hindu.

"We are thrilled to embrace accessibility features making the World Cup available to more fans of the sport. With these enhancements, we aim to ensure that the excitement of cricket knows no bounds,” Sajith Sivanandan.

For now, this feature will only be available for the matches of India including the semi-finals and the final of the T20 World Cup. 

“I am confident that it will open doors to the exciting world of cricket to many more people from the Deaf and Visually Impaired communities,” Alok Kejriwal, Founder and CEO of ISH News, said in a press statement. he added to the statement by saying, “This collaboration is really close to my heart since it makes the sport truly accessible and inclusive." 

A press statement released by Disney plus Hotstar outlined that, “The ISL feed will provide a comprehensive ball-by-ball update through the presence of a translator on the live stream. The audio descriptive feed will be complemented by voice-over technology for specific pages, which can render text and images into a speech output, enabling visually impaired users to easily navigate through the Disney+ Hotstar app.”

Anurag Thakur, the Sports Minister of India praised the efforts of Disney Star saying, “I commend Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar for introducing Indian Sign Language and Audio Descriptive commentary during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. The Government of India is committed to creating an inclusive society and I strongly believe that this initiative will enhance the viewing experience for millions of differently-abled sports enthusiasts.”

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