NAD, NFL, and NBC team for Super Bowl Captioning Experience

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and the National Football League (NFL) along with NBC, the network airing Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, February 5, 2012, worked together to ensure an accessible experience for the most important game of the year.

As in years past, the Super Bowl and national commercials as well as network and NFL promotions will be captioned prior to being aired on February 5, 2012. Some commercials during the game are local, and the captioning of those is at the discretion of the broadcasters in each local market. 

The NAD applauds the NFL and NBC for their commitment to captioning the Super Bowl XLVI experience.

Millions of people tune into the Super Bowl to watch the exciting battle between two football conference champions, but also want to see the latest creative ads that become tomorrow’s topic of conversation. The Super Bowl game has been captioned for years, but not all the commercials were accessible. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the NFL, the percentage of captioned commercials and promotions in the last three Super Bowls progressively and significantly increased.

We urge everyone to join the deaf and hard of hearing community in the annual ritual of counting the number of captioned commercials and promotions during the Super Bowl. The NAD is interested in learning about any technical issues that may prevent captions from appearing on television sets. Your captioning experience is important to us. 

Captioning is an inexpensive way to ensure that the entire televised Super Bowl experience is fully accessible to all. At least 36 million deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States rely on captioning to have the same experience, and many others such as those watching the game in public places such as bars and gyms also benefit from the captions.