Here is a file of the formal letter.
Text: Letter To Comcast, NBC, NBC Sports, and Peacock
I am directing this letter to Comcast, NBC, NBC Sports, and Peacock. The NFL should also read this to influence any broadcasters to agree to allow airtime for Deaf translators when they auction the license for a network to broadcast their future Superbowl.
The evening on February 13 was an exciting time and day for the Americans because they were the host of the NFL’s Superbowl LVI (56) game for the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals. While it was indeed an exciting time for America and the world, it was utterly disappointing to a group that has over 430 million population worldwide – the Deaf community.
It was utterly disappointing because NBC, NBC Sports, and Peacock under Comcast (parent company) did not take the opportunity to be inclusive by making sure that American Sign Language interpreters for National Anthem with Sandra Mae Frank and halftime with Warren “WaWa” Snipe and Sean Forbes to share the airtime with other singers. Every Superbowl would only air a very brief, a few seconds of a person translating the National Anthem in American Sign Language, and I think that is not fair. How about disabling the entire audio during a singer(s) singing the National Anthem and halftime? I bet your answer that I am crazy for saying that, but it is no different from not giving these American Sign Language Deaf translators the airtime equally. Suppose you would not disable the audio during the national anthem and the halftime of the Superbowl. Why must you not give these Deaf translators equal airtime for the Deaf community to be involved, just as millions of people who can hear are already involved with the audio? We should not have had to download an app, register with our network (some do not accept your network), and then watch the translation in American Sign Language. Many of us had to set Superbowl on a TV and then set our tablet (iPad or the like) up, which forced us to watch both screens – what a headache!
Here is a meme that shows you an example of how the Deaf community did while everyone else did so to give you a better idea of how unfair it was. Click the image below to enlarge.
Think this one over. How about forcing these million viewers that watched the Superbowl 56 to download an app to get audio and then put their tablet or smartphone beside their big flat screen like we as a Deaf community had to do to “see” American Sign Language so they can hear the audio of what was being said? Call me crazy again and say, why should you do that? Precisely that, so why did you do that with over 430 million Deaf people worldwide? Even adding the airtime for Deaf translators as a PIP (picture in picture) on national or international television for the entire time would be a good start!
I sincerely hope that Comcast now realizes the fairness of giving millions of people audio to hear what’s going on and giving the Deaf translators to translate in American Sign Language to provide over 430 million Deaf people to “see” what is going on.
Doing just that would have been genuinely inclusive, at least for the Deaf community. But unfortunately, you, like Comcast, didn’t take that opportunity to do what would have been the right thing to do. You had a chance to make history with that, along with airing the historic hip-hop musicians and whatnot, so that would’ve been another add-on to your history list!
I hope that now with this letter, you will consider and carefully think about the next time you air Superbowl. It is 2022, and you should have already done that a long time ago. As for other networks, if they are to host Superbowl instead, I hope they also do the right thing that Comcast failed to do.
As powerful as the NFL is, they should have advocated against the network that won the bid with Comcast to host the Superbowl to ensure that they include the airtime of American Sign Language Deaf translators. NFL has certain rules that all networks would have to agree to before winning the bid to host their Superbowl, and one of them should include the airtime for Deaf translators for both National Anthem and the halftime (at least a PIP would be a good start). So, this is not just on Comcast as a parent who owns NBC, NBC Sports, and Peacock but also NFL because they did not do anything about it; therefore, NFL is not inclusive as they promoted.
Here is a perfect example done by DPAN.Tv, which should have been on a national or international TV instead of forcing the Deaf community the hassle of downloading an app, registering, then connecting with their TV provider unless they don’t have it, then requiring them to pay for it to access to the video with Deaf translators. Why so many hassles when everyone else could power on a TV and switch a channel right away when the Deaf community must do so much more? Talking about the unfair and not right thing to do.
https://vimeo.com/event/1837845/videos/676685428/
Thank you for your time reading this letter.
Sincerely,
Joshua “Joshie” Sullivan of JoshiesWorld.
2/18/2022
