Netflix is introducing audio description for the visually impaired and the first show to benefit is, aptly, its new Marvel superhero show Daredevil, the story of a blind man who relies on his acutely tuned hearing to “see” sound.
The move was announced on Tuesday on the Netflix blog, coinciding with the launch of the audio description option, with the promise of more shows and movies to benefit from the service in future:
“At Netflix, we work hard to continually improve the experience for our members when viewing movies and shows on our service, including providing accessibility across devices,” says Tracy Wright, Netflix’s director content operations. “Now we’re expanding our accessibility options by adding audio description on select titles, beginning today with our new critically acclaimed series, Marvel’s Daredevil.”
Audio description is an additional soundtrack that aims to convey visual information that appears on-screen in words for the benefit of those with a visual impairment. Similar services have been rolled out by major television channels over the last six years, including BBC and Channel 4 in the UK, with BBC’s iPlayer becoming the first video-on-demand platform to provide an audio narration track.
Following Daredevil, Netflix plans to extend the service to its other original shows, including House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Marco Polo. The video streaming company has not set a date for branching out its service, but Tracy Wright, Netflix’s Director of Content Operations, says the company is “actively committed to increasing the number of audio-visual translations for movies and shows in our English-language catalogues.”
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