Sky Sports has announced a major change to its streaming service in celebration of World Sight Day, the annual event held on October 8 to raise awareness of blindness and vision impairment.
In a bid to support those with accessibility needs, Sky Sports is launching two new features across its Premier League coverage: Live Descriptive Audio Commentary for blind and partially sighted fans, and Live Subtitles for deaf people and those with hearing loss.
New features for fans
The new commentary is intended to add in-depth visual detail for fans, letting them follow key moments such as player movement, positioning, referee signals, substitutions, and more. Sky Sports has implemented the accessibility features with feedback from representative users, accessibility specialists, and the Royal National Institute of Blind People.
Viewers will be able to access Live Descriptive Audio Commentary as early as Saturday, October 10, when Manchester United will face off against Tottenham Hotspur. Following this, the feature will be available for one match per day in each gameweek, while Live Subtitles will be available for all front-channel Premier League matches, equating to around 210 games each season.
Subscription details
Football fans who want to get access to Sky Sports' new accessibility features can do so for as low as £20 a month for a 24-month minimum term. Access to Sky Sports includes Premier League matches, F1 races, and more, with Sky Sports+ roped into the subscription automatically.
Otherwise, those who want more for their cash can get access to Sky Sports, Netflix, and Sky TV for as low as £35 a month. This particular Sky bundle includes all Sky Sports coverage alongside Netflix with Ads and Sky Essentials TV, which includes dozens upon dozens of TV channels, including Sky Atlantic.
Alternative options and customer feedback
Meanwhile, Virgin Media has its own sports offering, making its Sport bundle available for £52.99. Though costlier than Sky's package, it delivers over 200 channels, including nine Sky Sports channels, Netflix and 362Mbps broadband. Alternatively, sports fans can access coverage via EE's TV packages, which grants entry to multiple sports channels and enables viewing of the Premier League, Champions League, and Moto GP.
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