ITV is bringing live audio description commentary to its coverage of four matches during the Guinness Men’s Six Nations, making the tournament more accessible and inclusive for blind and partially sighted fans.
The service will be available during ITV’s coverage of Ireland v England on Saturday 1 February, England v France on Saturday 8 February, England v Scotland on Saturday 22nd February and England v Italy on Sunday 9 March.
The audio commentary was launched as an initial trial during last year’s Championship during two matches, the first time the technology had been used for a UK broadcast sporting event, and is being rolled out more widely, for double the number of games this year. It is accessed simply by turning on the audio description function on a TV.
“We had a fantastic response to our live audio description commentary trial last year and, working with Guinness, it’s brilliant news that we’re able to extend it to more matches during this year’s tournament,” Mark Trinder, ITV Director of Commercial Sales and Partnerships. “We’re committed to making our content as accessible as possible and this is a great example of making sure as many fans as possible get to experience this year’s Six Nations.”
The commentary will be provided by Dave Rogers, a commentator and trained audio describer, and Joe Byrnes, Twickenham’s resident descriptive commentator. ITV’s descriptive commentary aims to bring to life TV pictures for a blind and visually impaired audience, giving a level of visual detail of the action and the surrounding stadium atmosphere far beyond the standard broadcast commentary.
