Netflix has further plans in place for its kids offering, only this one isn’t quite so dystopian as the company’s Playground launch. The company, according to a report from IndieWire, has signed a new deal to bring American Sign Language (ASL) to a large chunk of content in its Kids & Family category.
The chunk, so far, covers 200 hours across 73 different presentations. That may not sound like a lot, given that the service hosts an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 hours of content. But when you’re starting from zero, ramping up to 200 hours of ASL is a decent beginning.
Netflix signs up
The ASL implementation is being handled by an external company called SignUp Media. Netflix, probably wisely, isn’t handing this function over to artificial intelligence. A range of the company’s own original programming will have interpretation added. So will some of its licensed content, such as Pokémon Horizons and everyone’s favourite toddler brainwashing program, CocoMelon.
SignUp initially started, and still operates, as a Chrome browser extension that pops an inset window into a browser with a person translating content into ASL. It’s a bit like that infamous South African Mandela Day sign language interpreter, but with someone who actually knows sign language. In Netflix’s case, the company was hired to prepare interpretations directly for the streamer. The full 200 hours, the company says, were completed in two months.
The streamer’s senior manager of Strategy and Innovation, Elisa Beniero, said, “With ASL now joining subtitles, Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDH), dubbing and Audio Description (AD) as another way members can enjoy our content, we’re ensuring our Deaf and hard-of-hearing members have more ways to experience the stories they love.”
