Comcast to Include Video Description with NBC’s Production of The Wiz Live!
December 01 2015 - 1:40PM
Business Wire
Program Will Be The First Live Entertainment Show In U.S.
Broadcast History To Be Accessible To People With Visual
Disabilities
Comcast will include a national video description pilot program
with NBC’s broadcast of the hit Broadway musical The Wiz Live!
on December 3, making it the first live entertainment program in
U.S. history to be accessible to people who have a visual
disability. Video description is a narration track that is included
between the natural pauses in dialogue that describes the visual
elements of a show or movie like facial expressions, settings,
costumes and stage direction.
“Comcast’s commitment to include video description with the
performance of The Wiz Live! is
ground-breaking,” said Kim Charlson, President of
The American Council of the Blind (ACB). "The path to accessibility
is a journey of inclusion of all audiences. Just like the yellow
brick road is the path to the heartfelt wishes of Dorothy and her
friends, the blindness community is very happy to travel on this
new path with Comcast and NBC.”
The described broadcast of The Wiz Live! is a national
pilot program that is available across the country, wherever SAP
(Secondary Audio Program) audio feeds are available. To deliver the
service, Comcast and NBC are partnering with Descriptive Video
Works, an industry leader in the delivery of quality described
video and audio description for people with a visual disability.
The company has provided more than 1,000 hours of Live Description,
including the Olympics, Paralympics, and the Royal Wedding.
In addition to providing accessible content like The Wiz Live!,
Comcast also has developed technologies that help people with
disabilities enjoy entertainment independently. For example,
customers who have the company’s X1 platform now have access to a
talking guide, a voice-enabled TV menu and interface, and a voice
controlled TV remote control, a device that simplifies the search
process.
“The combination of accessible content and technology is
powerful,” said Tom Wlodkowski, Comcast’s Vice President of
Accessibility. “We’re working hard every day to make a positive
impact in the lives of millions of customers by making our products
and services more accessible and opening new doors to independence
for people with disabilities. The broadcast of The Wiz Live!
represents a real milestone in how people with visual impairments
experience television.”
“Earlier this year, I attended a theater production of The
Wiz and without description, found it very difficult to follow
the characters and action of the play,” said Carl
Augusto, CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind. “This
nationally described television broadcast will not only be a
godsend to people with vision loss, but also to those who describe
action to people with vision loss, and the general public, who will
learn about the importance of audio description."
The Wiz Live! is adapted from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”
by L. Frank Baum, with a book by William F. Brown, and music and
lyrics by Charlie Smalls. The production opened on Broadway in 1975
at the Majestic Theatre and won seven Tonys, including best
musical.
The Wiz Live! stars Queen Latifah (The Wiz), Mary J.
Blige (Evillene), Shanice Williams (Dorothy), David Alan
Grier (Cowardly Lion), NE-YO (Tin Man), Elijah Kelley
(Scarecrow), Amber Riley (Addaperle), Stephanie Mills
(Auntie Em), Uzo Aduba (Glinda) and Common (The
Gatekeeper).
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (“The Sound of Music Live!,” “Peter
Pan Live!,” Oscar-winning “Chicago”) will executive produce. Kenny
Leon (Tony winner, “A Raisin in the Sun”) is stage director and
Matthew Diamond is TV director, with Harvey Fierstein (three-time
Tony winner, “Torch Song Trilogy,” “Hairspray” and “La Cage aux
Folles”) providing new written material.
Esteemed choreographer Fatima Robinson (“Dreamgirls,” “Ali”) is
also on board, along with music producer Harvey Mason Jr.
(“Dreamgirls, “Pitch Perfect 2”) and Stephen Oremus (“The Book of
Mormon,” “Kinky Boots”) as music director, orchestrator and
co-producer of the music.
“The Wiz Live!” is produced by Universal Television in
association with Cirque Du Soleil Theatrical.
The Wiz Live! premieres Thursday, Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. ET.
December 3 is also the International Day of Persons with
Disabilities.
About Comcast Cable:
Comcast Cable is one of the nation's largest video, high-speed
Internet and phone providers to residential customers under the
XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses.
Comcast has invested in technology to build an advanced network
that delivers among the fastest broadband speeds, and brings
customers personalized video, communications and home management
offerings. Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global
media and technology company. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for
more information.
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Comcast CableSteven Restivo,
215-286-3507steven_restivo@comcast.com
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