PyeongChang 2018: NBC Olympics, Comcast To Provide Video Description for Olympic Games Production
NBC Olympics and Comcast announced that they will work with Descriptive Video Works to provide video description services (VDS) for viewers with visual disabilities watching coverage of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. The announcement was made by NBC Olympics President Gary Zenkel and Comcast Vice President of Accessibility, Tom Wlodkowski.
NBC Olympics descriptive video presentation of PyeongChang 2018 will be the second consecutive time that NBC has provided an inclusive viewing experience for people with visual disabilities watching the Olympic Games, the first being the 2016 Rio Olympics.
By providing unprecedented VDS coverage, NBC’s presentation of PyeongChang 2018 will be more accessible than any previous Winter Games. NBC Olympics is presenting video description to accompany 18 primetime telecasts of the PyeongChang Games, including the opening and closing ceremonies. Descriptive video will be incorporated into the live broadcasts, as well as NBC’s Video On Demand offerings.
“The excitement and pageantry of the Olympics is something that all viewers should be able to experience,” says Zenkel.
“The increased access provided by our VDS coverage will allow even more people to share in the stories and excitement of the PyeongChang Games. We are pleased to work with Comcast to provide more accessible coverage for Olympic fans than ever before, and offer this important enhancement to our coverage for people with visual disabilities.”
“NBC has become a pioneer in making live entertainment and sporting events more accessible for millions of people like me, and there is no bigger opportunity to demonstrate the impact of that work than the Olympics,” says Wlodkowski, who is blind himself.
“When accessible content is complemented with navigation and search technologies like our Xfinity X1 voice control and voice guidance, people with visual disabilities can have an end-to-end experience that is even more inclusive, independent and entertaining.”
In December 2015, video description was included with NBC’s national broadcast of the hit Broadway musical The Wiz Live! making it the first live entertainment program in U.S. history to be accessible to people who have a visual disability.
Video description is the use of short verbal descriptions of action or key video scenes to add context to programing for individuals with a visual disability. Descriptive Video Works’ specialists, with years of sportscaster experience, will describe key elements of NBC’s coverage of the Games and sports as they unfold. This narration provides a description of key visuals like actions, facial expressions, clothing, event locations and on-screen graphics.
NBC’s live primetime coverage of The Winter Olympics begins February 8.