(Image description of the header image: A glitchy background on which a white blank box is there, and at the left hand corner a hand holds a phone with a white screen, on top of which ERROR 404 is written. At the the right corner Digital Accessibility Project is written with red ink. On the top left corner is the Rising Flame logo which a deep red phoenix facing upward is about to take flight. The wings are like flames in shades of red and orange around it. Below this in black are the words: Rising Flame.)

Please Sign the petition asking Disney + Hotstar to become accessible for people with visual disabilities. 

While the cricket fans in the country gear up for the upcoming IPL, blind and visually impaired cricket lovers are worried and frustrated! Because Hotstar, which will be broadcasting IPL is inaccessible currently on Android and iOS platforms with a screen reader (the software used on these platforms by blind and visually impaired individuals). This means that if you are a blind or visually impaired person, you simply cannot use Hotstar on your smart phone. 

Listen to experiences of blind individuals with Hotstar here with the link attached : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o0r-YkZ_-lC7rmPs1WeLzMEwPpzmB5x7/view?usp=sharing

For blind individuals Game of Thrones is not just a click away, accessing news platforms like India Today is a struggle, and catching up on episodes from Star Plus is not an option - all because Hotstar is inaccessible. With cinema halls shut due to COVID, our entertainment needs are satisfied by smart phones like never before. The inaccessibility of the Hotstar app means that visually impaired individuals are excluded from this mode of entertainment. 

India is home to 62 million blind and visually impaired persons. In this digital time where watching shows gives us down time, or entertainment with family, or the only way to change our moods, or not get bored, a large group of persons are unable to do that because digital platforms don’t adopt the web accessibility guidelines. (Read more) In line with these guidelines, we have requested Hotstar to urgently make their apps screen reader friendly.

Cricketing action will resume after a gap of 6 months and blind and visually impaired individuals cannot be part of this fun if the Hotstar app is not made accessible. Hotstar is the top OTT platform in India with more than 300 million viewers. And it is important for such a platform to cater to needs of millions of blind and visually impaired viewers in the country. 

We hope you support our request by signing the petition and circulating it in your networks.

Cheers to an inclusive IPL watching experience!

This petition has been launched by Rising Flame: Rising Flame is an Indian nonprofit organisation working on rights of persons with disabilities, with a focus on women and youth with disabilities. As the winner of the National Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities 2019, the organisation believes that accessibility and access is the first step to social integration.

Website : https://risingflame.org/

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/risingflamenow

Twitter : https://twitter.com/RisingFlameNow