Almost 100 episodes of British Sign Language content now available on demand on Sky

Watch the press release above.

Notes to Editors

• Sky has partnered with the award-winning Deaf production charity, the British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust to produce their first demand collection with a broadcaster.
• From today, millions of people will be able to watch  great content on Sky in British Sign Language from the BSL Zone on Sky Q and Sky+.
• With almost 100 episodes at launch, Sky customers will soon also be able to enjoy regular new releases from the BSLZone.
• The content is made by the Deaf community for the Deaf community, and will now be on the big screen in the heart of the living room on the Sky platform for the whole family to enjoy when it suits them.
• The content, ranging across comedy, drama, factual and more is all presented/directed in British Sign Language and will be available at no extra cost in the Sky Entertainment package.
• Now in their 10th year, the BSLBT was set up as a mechanism for Ofcom to regulate broadcasters to provide access provision. However, at Sky, we wanted to go further to support the BLSBT and have partnered to bring our customers this collection on a pro-bono basis.
• The BSL Zone collection will be available on Sky + and Sky Q boxes, it is not currently available on Sky Go or NOW TV.
• A selection of images of BSL Zone programmes are available here: https://we.tl/t-zQXxE1K2Uo 
  

Press Contact
Katie Hartnoll - katie.hartnoll@sky.uk

About BLSBT

The British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust (BSLBT) is an organisation that offers commercial broadcasters an alternative way to meet their regulatory requirements to provide sign language on their channels. 

Independent broadcasters with between 0.5% and 1% of audience share can choose either to source and broadcast programmes presented in sign-language themselves or to pay an annual subscription fee, set by Ofcom, to BSLBT to make and broadcast programmes in sign language for the Deaf audience.  

BSLBT was set up in 2008 and broadcast its first programme in 2009.  It gained charitable status in 2012.

About Sky

With 24 million customers across seven countries, Sky is Europe’s leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of the Comcast group.

Our 31,000 employees help connect our customers with the very best of Sports, News, the arts and to our own local, original content. Following the success of Sky originals like Chernobyl, Patrick Melrose, Das Boot and Gomorrah we launched Sky Studios and now plan to more than double our investment in original drama and comedy over the next five years.

Our technology allows customers to watch what they want, when they want, how they want, and as we connect millions of families to content they love, it is our responsibility to do it safely – that’s why we offer services like Sky Broadband Buddy and the Sky Kids app. And our online streaming service, NOW TV, brings viewers all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract-free service.

We also believe that a company of our scale has a responsibility that goes beyond our business, and into the community. Our Sky Ocean Rescue campaign has reached millions across Europe, we’re on track to be free of single-use plastic by 2020, we’re investing £25million over five years in ocean-saving tech and we’re a proud employer – recognised by The Times and Stonewall for our approach to inclusivity.