Title
What is the experience of blind and partially sighted people watching sports broadcasts
Conference name
Media for All 10 Conference
City
Country
Belgium
Modalities
Date
06/07/2023-07/07/2023
Abstract
“I would only watch what I know I can follow. I discovered that quite a lot of sports which I would like to follow I can’t because the commentary doesn’t tend to talk about what is happening. They tend to be discussing the profile of an athlete”. (Sports fan)
“There are probably also a lot of other sports I don’t watch because of the commentators. It just puts me off as there is not much description of what’s happening”. (Sports fan)
These quotes from the RNIB’s research on sports broadcasts succinctly highlight some of the key barriers that blind and partially sighted people face whilst watching sports. This is a common experience as the majority of sports coverage does not have audio description, or a commentary style that provides sufficient detail for blind and partially sighted people to follow an event accurately. During 2022 many live sporting events returned, including the Winter Olympics, Winter Paralympics, the Commonwealth Games, the Euros and the Football World Cup. On UK television, these events often lacked audio description, thus excluding a section of society from becoming fully immersed.
This research explores the barriers blind and partially sighted people encounter and their preferences for improving the accessibility and enjoyability of sports broadcasts by drawing on end user’s experiences. It will discuss the advantages and disadvantages associated with using different forms of audio description, including integrated, traditional and a specially produced description track.
A variety of sports were covered during the research with an emphasis on understanding whether fast paced and detailed sports, such as football or judo would benefit more from description than slower paced sports. Another area of interest raised which covers all forms of audio description or commentary style is the importance of the language used to provide a clear but concise description of the action.
Overall, no clear preference emerged from end users as to which audio description style/commentary style was the best for sports broadcasts. People’s personal preferences played a large role in this, as some end users particularly enjoyed certain aspects of one audio description style, but disliked elements of the other formats. However, there was a consensus that sports broadcasts need audio description, or a detailed commentary style to make a sporting event accessible and enjoyable. It was also highlighted that sports which are fast paced, or that are particularly detailed would benefit more from audio description in comparison to slower paced sports. End users also agreed that the language used to describe the venue, equipment, athletes and sporting action is particularly important, as it needs to be clear yet detailed enough for them to follow the event accurately.
This research provides useful insights into how sports broadcasts can be made more accessible and enjoyable for blind and partially sighted people, but with events such as the Paris 2024 Olympic Games already on the horizon, more research in this area would be beneficial.
“There are probably also a lot of other sports I don’t watch because of the commentators. It just puts me off as there is not much description of what’s happening”. (Sports fan)
These quotes from the RNIB’s research on sports broadcasts succinctly highlight some of the key barriers that blind and partially sighted people face whilst watching sports. This is a common experience as the majority of sports coverage does not have audio description, or a commentary style that provides sufficient detail for blind and partially sighted people to follow an event accurately. During 2022 many live sporting events returned, including the Winter Olympics, Winter Paralympics, the Commonwealth Games, the Euros and the Football World Cup. On UK television, these events often lacked audio description, thus excluding a section of society from becoming fully immersed.
This research explores the barriers blind and partially sighted people encounter and their preferences for improving the accessibility and enjoyability of sports broadcasts by drawing on end user’s experiences. It will discuss the advantages and disadvantages associated with using different forms of audio description, including integrated, traditional and a specially produced description track.
A variety of sports were covered during the research with an emphasis on understanding whether fast paced and detailed sports, such as football or judo would benefit more from description than slower paced sports. Another area of interest raised which covers all forms of audio description or commentary style is the importance of the language used to provide a clear but concise description of the action.
Overall, no clear preference emerged from end users as to which audio description style/commentary style was the best for sports broadcasts. People’s personal preferences played a large role in this, as some end users particularly enjoyed certain aspects of one audio description style, but disliked elements of the other formats. However, there was a consensus that sports broadcasts need audio description, or a detailed commentary style to make a sporting event accessible and enjoyable. It was also highlighted that sports which are fast paced, or that are particularly detailed would benefit more from audio description in comparison to slower paced sports. End users also agreed that the language used to describe the venue, equipment, athletes and sporting action is particularly important, as it needs to be clear yet detailed enough for them to follow the event accurately.
This research provides useful insights into how sports broadcasts can be made more accessible and enjoyable for blind and partially sighted people, but with events such as the Paris 2024 Olympic Games already on the horizon, more research in this area would be beneficial.