Driving awareness: BT Sport on bringing inclusivity to live sport with its New Signing initiative By Heather McLean
Wednesday, February 15, 2023 - 08:21
Print This Story
BT Sport's New Signing presenters getting stuck into the job at Chelsea FC
BT Sport is taking significant strides in its goal to make live sport more inclusive and accessible to all with its New Signing initiative, which aims to raise the profile of the deaf community within sport.
New Signing is the latest BT Sport initiative, supported by EE as part of its long-term partnership with each of the four Home Nations Football Associations, to support the growth of disability football on and off the pitch.
Head of BT Sport, Jamie Hindhaugh, tells SVG Europe: This is part of our current strategy that you will have seen a change in over the past couple of years, around making sure inclusivity and accessibility is front and foremost to what we do.
This current project we're working on is probably one of the projects I'm most proud to be associated with, because I think it really is leaning into the heart of what the challenges are [for inclusivity and accessibility in sports broadcasting] and helping us learn and giving people the opportunity to really be truly accessible as a sports broadcaster.
On the pitch for the Chelsea versus Fulham match in January 2023, new BSL presenters for BT Sport, Rolf Choutan [far left] and Damaris Cooke [standing next to Choutan]
British Sign Language on screen
In January this year BT Sport announced that new presenters, Damaris Cooke and Rolf Choutan, were joining BT Sport and EE's New Signing initiative to provide British Sign Language (BSL) presentation around a range of live televised sport in 2023, including June's UEFA Champions League Final.
I do think there is a genuine realisation across our industry that all audiences are important and therefore if there are things we can do to make them feel more involved, that people are doing it
The two new BSL presenters have three roles within BT Sport: they are being provided with further training; they are making a six-part docu-series charting their time with BT Sport; and they are being part of selected live football coverage.
There's also a bit of fun behind this as well, with some great content coming out of it.
Hindhaugh continues: We're introducing two great personalities [with Cooke and Choutan]. We're creating some great content off the back of this and we're also developing them as [individual presenters] as well. What I like about it is we are putting our money where our mouth is; we're not just saying this is a real issue or this is something that needs to be addressed.
We're saying, currently, in the present, we are doing this programme format to enable us to understand the opportunity and to also create great content that engages our audiences and brings awareness of some of the challenges and issues around being a deaf sports fan, for want of a better term.
The documentary series following Cooke and Choutan's journey debuted on BT Sport 1 and EE platforms on 4 February.
BT Sport announced that new BSL presenters, Damaris Cooke [left] and Rolf Choutan [right] were joining the broadcaster to increase accessibility for sports fans
From showcases to mainstream
BT Sport began its journey to improve the inclusivity and accessibility of its offering two years ago with the far-reaching broadcast of the FA Disability Cup in summer 2021. This had BT Sport 3 showing enhanced Audio Description delivered by an expert based at St George's Park, BT Sport Extra 1 showing BSL with the live coverage, and sub-titles were available on BT Sport 1. Meanwhile, BT Sport Ultimate provided coverage in up to 4K HDR picture quality. The broadcaster repeated this accessibility reach for the 2022 FA Disability Cup.
Comments Hindhaugh: This was where we took a disability event and made sure we had three different feeds on it, making sure it was totally accessible.
However, he says the New Signing move of BSL for mainstream matches is taking the issue of inclusivity one step further: [The FA Disability Cup is] an event that is about disability, therefore supported for the disability audience. What New Signing is about is taking a normal sports event and ensuring that people can engage with that sports event in the same way, regardless of the fact they have a hearing challenge.
Through the mainstreaming and normalisation of broadcast accessibility to sports fans, Hindhaugh hopes to drive audience awareness while providing people with new opportunities. Hindhaugh says: The key thing for me is at BT Sport, we're very proud of the fact that we want to be the most inclusive broadcaster in the world. The Disability Cup engages a different audience and drives awareness, and this project is all about driving awareness.
The thing I love about it is it's giving people opportunity, doing it in the way we're doing it, with the format we're doing it, and with that competitive element about being involved, giving them training, and enabling them to be involved on something like the Champions League Final, he says. If nothing else, it drives huge awareness, drives empathy, and makes everyone think, and that includes ourselves.
Hard at work during the match, Damaris Cooke and Rolf Choutan, new BSL presenters for BT Sport
Genuine realisation
When working on the Disability Cup, Hindhaugh previously told SVG Europe that one reason a significant level of inclusivity is not included in live sport by more broadcasters is the accumulative costs of producing an event in this way.
On how BT Sport was reckoning the costs of producing football with BSL presenters, Hindhaugh comments: I think that's an interesting question. For me, it's about valuing your audience, esp
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
Driving awareness: BT Sport on bringing inclusivity to live sport with its New Signing initiative By Heather McLean 
