With webcasting allowing more people than ever to have access to events, the need to make virtual events and streams more accessible is becoming increasingly important. That is why Groovy Gecko is pleased to announce that our live streaming platform, EckoEnterprise, is now the most accessible platform in the world.
At Groovy Gecko, we have always prided ourselves on making webcasts as accessible as possible. Back in 2004, we delivered the first live webcast with subtitling for the Disabilities Rights Commission so hearing impaired viewers could interact with the stream in real time. Almost two decades later and we’re continuing to innovate to help make live streaming accessible to all.
WAGC 2.1 Compliance is just the beginning
As part of the new version of EckoEnterprise, new templates are built to be WAGC 2.1 AAA compliant – and that’s just the beginning. The new version of the platform has functionality to seamlessly integrate subtitles, audio replacement, signing and audio description into the user experience. This means that not only will the platform be able to cater for a range of accesibility needs, but it can also do so in any supported language.
Adding different language options into the live not only supports viewers with subtitle or audio requirements, but also allows your audience different options, including audio descriptions or signing in different langauges, which greatly increases the potential size of your audience.
Why is Accessiblity important?
We have always considered our technology as a conduit for inclusion regardless of the medium – a way for people to participate. For our clients, creating accessible content can greatly broaden reach and usability. Unfortunately, accessibility remains an often-overlooked part of video and streaming production, but accessibility doesn’t have to add significant time or cost, especially when considered from the beginning of a project.
It’s also really important to consider how big a proportion of your audience you may not be effectively communicating with if your current events don’t have accessible options. Below are a few interesting statistics about UK audiences with accessibility requirements.
11 Million people in the UK have hearing loss.
10 Million people are neuro diverse.
3 Million are colour blind.
2 Million have some form of sight loss.
By not catering to these groups of people, you are potentially not effectively communicating with a large part of your audience.
Giving Viewers control
Giving viewers control over their experience is the most important aspect of making your event accessible. That is why our new built-in accessability module on EE is availlable through a user-friendly icon on each page. Once the icon is selected, a viewer can click on the most relevant preset for their needs, such as ADHD. However, we know everyone’s needs are individual, so within the system, each viewer can fine tune up to 50 different attributes on the page to allow for various changes to their experience including higher contrast, simpler fonts, stopping animation and videos not auotplaying.
By giving viewers so much choice to fine tune their virtual experience depending on their individual needs, we can ensure that they get the very best from the system and have the best possible experience.
We are constantly researching and developing new solutions to improve accessibility and value input from our clients and partners, so if you have a specific requirement, or wish to see the latest accesible version of EE, please get in touch below!
