HITN and Dicapta Join Forces to Make Network’s Content/Programming More Accessible to People With Sensory Disabilities

February 16, 2022 at 10:00 AM EST

New partnership will make HITN’s audiovisual content accessible to people with visual and hearing impairments

HITN, the leading Spanish-language network that offers educational and entertainment content to more than 40 million households across the United States, announced today its partnership with Dicapta to make its programming more accessible to people with sensory disabilities.

Ensuring equal access to information for people with hearing and visual impairments, this partnership is part of HITN’s ongoing commitment to bring family-friendly, educational content to Hispanic households nationwide for the betterment of minority communities. The first program to showcase Dicapta’s media accessibility technology was “Mundo Salvaje con Ron Magill” which premiered its third season on Jan. 31.

“We are very proud to be working alongside Dicapta to make our shows more inclusive and what better way to kickstart our collaboration than with ‘Mundo Salvaje con Ron Magill,’ an audience’s favorite and one of our most frequently watched wildlife programs ideal for the entire family to learn and be inspired to preserve nature”, said Guillermo Sierra, Head of Television and Digital Services of HITN.

Dicapta’s technology provides high-quality Spanish audio descriptions and captions for TV programming. Users will be able to easily and conveniently access the audio descriptions and captions by using the downloadable app All4Access to watch their media content on a television, tablet or other media device.

“Adding content to the All4Access Clearinghouse assures that no matter where HITN’s unique content goes, it will be accessible for audiences with sensory disabilities. Using braille displays, mobile devices, or tablets, audio descriptions and captions of the programming will be available anywhere, anytime” stated Maria-Victoria Diaz, President and founding partner of Dicapta. “We are so lucky to have support from the US Department of Education in this endeavor. We at Dicapta share HITN’s mission of promoting Latinos' educational, cultural, and socio-economic aspirations in the United States through quality content, now accessible for Latinos with sensory disabilities” Diaz added.

To use Dicapta’s All4Access app, users must follow the following instructions:

Download the All4Access from the App Store or Google Play Store.
Play your programming on your TV, computer, or any other device. Avoid the use of headphones since the app must ‘listen’ to the audio of the program to identify it.
On the app, select “Start” and then select “Press here to synchronize.”
Once the app is synchronized, choose the accessibility element you want to use.
Enjoy your accessible program.

About HITN-TV

HITN-TV is a leading Spanish-language media company that offers educational and cultural programming for the whole family. It reaches more than 40 million viewers in the US and Puerto Rico via DIRECTV, DIRECTV NOW, DISH Network, AT&T U-verse TV, Verizon FiOS TV, Comcast, Charter Spectrum, Mediacom, CenturyLink Prism and Altice. For more information, please visit www.hitn.org.

About Dicapta

Dicapta Corporation is a communications technology company focused on making media accessible for people with visual and hearing disabilities. It has been offering high quality audio description, captioning, and language customization services since 2004. Dicapta has served the TV industry, media companies, educational institutions, and variety of organizations in making communications accessible to everyone. Dicapta has also been funded by the United States Department of Education and the United States Department of Health and Human Services to work in the creation of accessibility assets and the development of technology to improve access to media for people with sensory disabilities.

About All4Access

All4Access is a global repository that stores media accessibility assets, such as captions, audio description, and American Sign Language. It simplifies the way assets are shared and used while protecting the rights of media creators. All4Access is a technology created by Dicapta and the Universidad Carlos II de Madrid, funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education.