‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year’: ‘The Comcast Holiday Spectacular’ Brings New Experiences to Life for Pe...
November 25 2014 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
’Tis the season for festive fun and excitement, and The
Comcast Holiday Spectacular will bring joy to the Philadelphia
community, families and visitors alike. Beginning Thanksgiving
Day at 10:00 AM, the lobby of Comcast Center will transform
into a winter wonderland with the help of 12 animatronic snowmen
and a new Carol of the Bells. Additionally, for the first time,
visitors with hearing and vision impairments will be able to
experience the magic of the show through assistive technology,
including audio description and closed captioning.
To make the family-friendly show accessible to the widest
possible audience, Comcast’s Accessibility Team, led by Tom
Wlodkowski, Vice President of Accessibility for Comcast Cable,
worked with WGBH’s National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) and
Media Access Group to create the audio description and closed
captioning for The Comcast Holiday Spectacular. WGBH is the
inventor of closed captioning and Descriptive Video Service (DVS).
Audio description will provide narration of the show’s key visual
elements, including actions, costumes, gestures, facial
expressions, scene changes, and onscreen text, to blind and
low-vision viewers. Additionally, closed captions will enable
visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing to follow along through
carefully placed words that identify speakers, sound effects,
music, and singing. According to the U.S. Census, there are 8.1
million people with a visual disability and about 19 million U.S.
households have at least one member with a disability.
“When we created The Comcast Holiday Spectacular, we wanted to
bring the most technologically-advanced experience for all to enjoy
throughout the holiday season,” said Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and
CEO of Comcast Corporation. “This year, with the addition of
assistive technology, we are delighted to bring the joy and
entertainment of the show to those who may not have been able to
experience it before.”
“For people with visual or hearing disabilities, audio
description and closed captioning are critical components of an
inclusive entertainment experience,” said Tom Wlodkowski. “This
addition to The Comcast Holiday Spectacular is a great example of
how Comcast is bringing entertainment experiences to people with
disabilities.”
The Comcast Holiday Spectacular is a 15-minute show full of
unique holiday sounds and imagery that capture the wonderful spirit
of the season with enchanting scenes from The Nutcracker,
beautifully performed by the renowned Pennsylvania Ballet; a
magical sleigh ride through the snow covered Pennsylvania
countryside and into Center City Philadelphia; and fantastic
performances by Broadway dancers, world-class ice skaters, and
actors from Philadelphia’s historic Walnut Street Theatre. The
Comcast Holiday Spectacular, shown on the 83’ x 25’ Comcast
Experience video wall — one of world’s largest highest resolution
LED displays — has attracted more than 1 million visitors since its
2008 debut.
The show can be seen at the top of each hour, 10:00 AM through
8:00 PM, at Comcast Center (1701 John F. Kennedy Blvd.,
Philadelphia, PA 19103) beginning on Thanksgiving Day (November 27)
through New Year’s Day — the show is not presented on weekdays at
5:00 PM. Children of all ages will receive a waterless temporary
tattoo, that, when displayed, will be valid for a treat from The
Market & Shops on the concourse level of Comcast Center during
the show’s run.
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and
technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and
NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is the nation’s largest video,
high-speed Internet and phone provider to residential customers
under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to
businesses. NBCUniversal operates news, entertainment and sports
cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks,
television production operations, television station groups,
Universal Pictures and Universal Parks and Resorts. Visit
www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.
Comcast CorporationJohn Demming,
215-286-8011john_demming@comcast.comorLisa Ferri,
215-286-7676lisa_ferri@comcast.comorKatie Lubenow,
215-286-5691katie_lubenow@comcast.com
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