Oscars 2022: Academy awards ceremony broadcast to feature live ASL interpretation for free

Iconic celebrities are set to grace the red carpet to attend the glamourous night of celebrating exceptional films and artists of the year at the Oscars 2022. Set to be held at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles on March 27, the Academy Award will be hosted by actors Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes, making them the first all-female team of hosts in history. Moreover, the ceremony will also reportedly feature a respectful tribute to Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion in the country. 

This would also mark the first time that the Oscars will be held physically ever since the onset of the pandemic making it all more special. Considering how important and special this year's ceremony is set to be, the organizers added another feature to the show by availing live ASL interpretation for deaf and hard of hearing viewers for free making it the first time in the history of Academy Awards.

Oscars 2022 to feature Live ASL interpretation

As per a report from The Hollywood Reporter, the broadcast of Oscars 2022 on ABC will be available to a large number after the Academy award ceremony recently added the new feature of American Sign Language interpretation on its live stream. Viewers can avail access of this stream on the Academy's official YouTube channel as well as their website-- Oscars.com - free of cost. It will be available on viewers' personal smart devices and will operate as a second screen.

The feature will have certified deaf interpreters. Jeanell English, VP, Impact and Operations told The Hollywood Reporter that the new feature comes under 'a constant space and state of learning and growing' for the group that believes that it 'can’t accomplish inclusion without prioritizing accessibility.'

This would not be the first time for the Oscars to integrate a plan to ensure accessibility to all its viewers as they are reportedly planning to continue their last year's historic efforts in providing audio descriptions and use of live captioning for the blind low vision Oscars viewers. The same has been possible in association with the country’s largest captioning provider - VITAC. 

Image: AP