EE and BT Sport are teaming up to search for a duo to provide British Sign Language (BSL) commentary around a range of BT Sport programming in 2023, including the UEFA Champions League Final.

Launching today, New Signing will provide two BSL commentators or presenters with a first-of-its-kind opportunity to train up with BT Sport so that they can sign at some of the biggest BT Sport football games next season, including the FA Disability Cup 2023.

New Signing is open to anyone to apply who would like the opportunity to enhance BT Sport’s football coverage through BSL – the two people selected will have the opportunity to add their own BSL commentary to some key footballing moments on BT Sport, whilst documenting their journey across BT Sport and online next year.

Anyone interested in entering and to find out more can visit https://www.bt.com/sport/bt-sport-united/new-signing

New Signing is the latest EE initiative, as part of its long-term partnerships with each of the four Home Nations Football Associations, to support the growth of disability football on and off the pitch, ensuring the game is as inclusive as possible for fans and spectators with disabilities. This includes Para Football Adventures - a documentary series fronted by Alex Brooker and Chelcee Grimes shining a floodlight on para and disability football and meeting some of the inspirational people that make up the game. Meanwhile EE and The FA recently opened two multi-purpose sensory rooms at Wembley Stadium to better accommodate neuro-divergent guests and their families.

For BT Sport, New Signing continues its work to make its broadcasts as accessible as possible for all of its viewers. Over the past two years, BT Sport has broadcast The FA Disability Cup exclusively live with enhanced Audio Description, BSL, and, sub-titles. This season, BT Sport is also increasing the amount of subtitled sports content that it provides viewers by more than 100 hours per month, and, later this season will launch a new series with BSL that focuses on the issues facing deaf and hard of hearing sports fans.

Pete Jeavons, Marketing Communications Director, BT & EE said: “As lead partner of The FA, EE is committed to enhance access to football for everyone. Our New Signing partnership with BT Sport will not only make key BT Sport programming more accessible, but provide a unique opportunity for two BSL experts to develop their careers in sport broadcast.”

Jamie Hindhaugh, Head of BT Sport said: “BT Sport is committed to providing the best possible experience for anyone who loves watching football on TV. We are working hard to make our programming as accessible as possible and we have a range of exciting initiatives planned for the season ahead. It’s fantastic to be able to work with EE to create more BSL content for our viewers.”

England international deaf footballer Will Palmer said: “It’s massive that EE and BT Sport are providing this opportunity for BSL signers to feature so prominently in their football coverage. This will be a big step for the deaf football community and I am really excited to see the New Signing pundits in position over the coming months.

“During the making of the New Signing advert it was a great experience to meet the England senior players and to teach them some BSL words and terms. We spoke about the importance of communication and inclusion within football, and I am proud that we have been able to launch the New Signing initiative together.”

Rebecca Mansell, Chief Executive of the British Deaf Association said: “EE and BT Sport have set a brilliant example of what it means to successfully collaborate effectively with the Deaf community to produce an outstanding and inclusive campaign. Ever since the British Deaf Association was established in 1890, it has been our mission to ensure a world in which the language, culture, community, diversity and heritage of Deaf people in the UK is respected and fully protected.

“Earlier this year, our decades of campaigning paid off when Parliament passed the BSL Act 2022, giving legal recognition to British Sign Language as a language of Great Britain for the first time. We look forward to collaborating further with EE and BT Sport to protect, preserve and promote British Sign Language for generations to come."

Amanda Casson Webb, Joint Chief Executive, Royal Association for Deaf (RAD) people, said: “RAD’s vision is a future of opportunity, achievement and equality for deaf people. We are passionate about collaborating with organisations that share our aspiration - and are proud to have partnered BT Sport on ‘New Signing’, a project that we welcome as a real step-change for the Deaf Community. We look forward to seeing more deaf talent and BSL commentary on mainstream TV.”

Teri Devine, Associate Director for Inclusion at RNID, said: “We applaud BT Sport and EE for their ‘New Signing’ initiative. British Sign Language (BSL) is the first language of 87,000 Deaf people in the UK and they have a right to enjoy football games as much as anyone. Representation matters, and we are thrilled that this opportunity will lead to thousands of Deaf football fans being able to watch and engage with the ‘beautiful game’.  For support or information, please visit RNID.org.uk.”

ENDS

About BT Sport

Launched in 2013, BT Sport broadcasts in the UK and Republic of Ireland. BT Sport offers five linear TV channels BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2, BT Sport 3, BT Sport ESPN, BT Sport Ultimate, six interactive BT Sport Extra channels and is available on BT TV, Sky, Virgin Media and Talk Talk. BT Sport is also available online and via the App on mobile and large screen devices and operates pay per view channel, BT Sport Box Office.

BT Sport has a track record of innovation, operating from one of industry’s most sophisticated sports TV studios, and delivering world-firsts around Virtual Reality, Dolby Atmos, 4K UHD and remote production. Its achievements have been recognized with awards from IBC, Promax, Music Week and more.

As well as the sole UK rights holder for the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, BT Sport offers live sport programming including the Premier League, boxing, UFC, WWE, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Heineken Champions Cup and MotoGP.

About EE

EE runs the UK's biggest and fastest mobile network, offering superfast connections in more places than any other operator. EE brought the first 4G network to the UK in October 2012, and launched the UK’s first 5G network in May 2019.

EE has received extensive independent recognition, including being named the UK’s no.1 5G network by RootMetrics® in 2020 and 2021, and the UK's best network every year since 2014 for the following awards: The Mobile Choice Awards, The Mobile Industry Awards and by RootMetrics®.

As well as delivering mobile services to consumers, small and medium businesses, corporate customers and Government programmes, EE also provides home and business broadband using both 4G and fixed line connections.

EE is committed to being number one for service in the industry, and has nearly 600 shops across the UK. EE remains the only mobile provider to answer 100% of customer calls in the UK and Ireland and was recognised as the UK’s Best Large Contact Centre by the UK Customer Experience Awards 2018 and Welsh Contact Centre Awards 2019. EE was awarded The Sunday Times’ Best 100 Companies to Work for in 2018 and 2019, as well as being named Best Employer 2018 by the European Contact Centre & Customer Service awards.

AriSports has been crowned the winner of Innovate 21, BT Sport’s search for exciting new sports broadcast experiences from entrepreneurs, creatives and start-ups.

AriSports impressed the judges with its digital prediction platform, the brainchild of co-founders Rassim and Djewed Hariz. It allows football fans to predict on-pitch events, earning points in the process and competing against friends. It includes a fantasy trading element, where fans can collect and own unique digital cards of their favourite football players. The cards can increase in value, depending on the player’s real-life performances and correct predictions from the owner of the card. As the winner of Innovate 21, AriSports will now have the opportunity to work with BT Sport to develop its technology for future use.

This is the third time BT Sport has backed a search for new viewer innovations in recent years from small businesses. Since winning a 2018 BT competition, Sceenic worked with BT Sport to support last year’s launch of Watch Together service on the BT Sport App. Meanwhile, the winner of a 2016 BT competition, Seenit, enabled fans to send in video reports from stadia around the country as part of BT Sport’s Premier League Tonight show.

AriSports was one of four companies to make it to a final where it presented its innovation to a panel of experts led by Jamie Hindhaugh, chief operating officer, BT Sport. Those involved in identifying both a shortlist and winner included journalist and technology expert Lucy Hedges, Matt Stagg, BT Sport director of mobile strategy, plus BT Sport presenters Brian O’Driscoll, Suzi Perry and Robbie Savage.

Jamie Hindhaugh, chief operating officer, BT Sport, said: “We were extremely impressed by the quality and ingenuity of the innovations on display at the Innovate 21 final. I would like to congratulate AriSports on being crowned worthy winners. Its proposal is an ambitious platform that will offer fans an immersive experience and we look forward to working with them in helping harness its potential.”

Rassim Hariz, chairman, AriSports, said: “Special thanks to BT Sport for this great award, we look forward to working with their team. The process was very competitive and we are honoured to be the winners of Innovate 21. For us, it has been two years in the making and I would like to thank all our technical, product development and business development team. Working with BT Sport, and knowing their innovation track record, is fully aligned with our identity and ambitions in applying our world-first technology for immersive fantasy gaming on live content.”

BT has been at the heart of sports broadcasting innovation over recent years, details of which can be seen at btsport.com/innovates:

• Last season, BT Sport and EE teamed up to launched Matchday Experience on the BT Sport App, offering fans the most immersive sports viewing experience anywhere in the UK, powered by EE’s number one 5G network. Features include Watch Together - the only service in the UK allowing fans to watch, see and chat with three other friends, alongside any BT Sport broadcast, thanks to a split-screen interface.
• BT Sport was the first broadcaster to show live content in 4K and UHD in 2015 and the first to adopt Dolby Atmos in 2016. BT Sport has also embraced social media, being the first to show the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League finals on YouTube and showing content such as BT Sport Score live for free on Twitter and Facebook.
• In 2019, BT Sport collaborated with BT’s Media & Broadcast arm to broadcast the world’s first live 8K test broadcast, into the IBC exhibition in Amsterdam.
• In 2018 BT Sport and EE successfully carried out the world’s first live broadcast over 5G using remote production, delivering a two-way transmission from Wembley Stadium to London’s ExCeL exhibition centre.

The FA Disability Cup will return to St George’s Park on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 July, with BT Sport providing coverage over the weekend, the first time the Cup has been broadcast live.

The 2021 FA Disability Cup, the fifth edition of the competition, will see five cup finals scheduled across the weekend, delivered by The FA in partnership with a range of impairment-specific organisations. The Cup is the largest competition of its kind in this country, giving players within impairment-specific football a national competition of their own, complete with dreams of reaching St. George’s Park for finals weekend. BT Sport’s coverage will be presented by Alex Brooker, presenter of Channel 4’s The Last Leg, five-time Paralympic champion Hannah Cockcroft and, BT Sport presenter Jules Breach.

Supporting BT’s lead partnership with the four Home Nation Football Associations, which aims to boost support for disability football, BT Sport’s coverage will be available for anyone to watch without a subscription via BT Sport’s website (btsport.com), its App for mobiles, tablets, smart TVs, media adapters and games consoles, plus, its Facebook channel (facebook.com/btsport). Highlights coverage will also be available on Channel 4, on 25 July, with details announced soon.

The competition will be the most accessible live broadcast of a football match taking place in the UK to date. On each day, live coverage of all the finals will feature on three BT Sport channels with each offering different accessibility features. BT Sport 3 will feature enhanced Audio Description delivered by an expert based at St George’s Park. In addition, BT Sport Extra 1 will carry British Sign Language, with sub-titles available on BT Sport 1*. A fourth channel, BT Sport Ultimate, will provide coverage in up to 4K HDR picture quality.

Next season, BT Sport will trial the inclusion of these accessibility features around several sports. BT is committed to making these features available as standard for all of its live coverage in the future. More details on how to watch, including channel information and how to access all the accessibility features are available at btsport.com/fadisabilitycup.

How to watch

• BT TV, Sky, Virgin Media customers: BT Sport Extra 1 (British Sign Language), BT Sport 3 (Enhanced Audio Description), BT Sport 1 (standard feed with sub-titles), BT Sport Ultimate (standard feed, no sub-titles. Channel not available on Sky)**.

• BTSport.com + BT Sport App***: following channels available to subscribers and non-subscribers - BT Sport Extra 1 (British Sign Language), BT Sport 3 (Enhanced Audio Description), BT Sport 1 (standard feed, no sub-titles). BT Sport Ultimate (standard feed, no sub-titles, available to subscribers only)***.

• Facebook (facebook.com/btsport) – BT Sport 1 (standard feed, no sub-titles) available to all.

Live schedule on BT Sport

Saturday 17 July

10.30am to 12.30pm: POWERCHAIR FINAL - Aspire PFC v West Bromwich Albion PFC

12.30pm to 3pm: CEREBRAL PALSY FINAL - North East & Yorkshire v CP North West

3pm to 5.15pm: PARTIALLY SIGHTED FINAL - Scorpions Futsal Club v Birmingham Futsal

Sunday 18 July

10.30am to 12.30pm: AMPUTEE FINAL - Peterborough United Amputees v Portsmouth Amputees

12.30pm to 2.45pm: BLIND FINAL - RNC Hereford v Merseyside Blind & VI FC

In addition, BT is using its FA partnerships to provide fans with new disability football content leading up to the competition, through a new mini-series Para Football Adventures, presented by Brooker alongside influencer and Merseyrail FC striker Chelcee Grimes. All five episodes debut on Saturday July 10 at 6.30pm on BT Sport 1, and will individually air as short minute episodes in the week prior to the Cup taking place.  The series sees Grimes and Brooker explore:

• England: CP Football - the story of the successful CP England Football team through players Giles Moore and Harry Baker.

• Northern Ireland: Powerchair football – the country is a relative newcomer to Powerchair football and in just five years has qualified for the 2022 Powerchair World Cup in Australia.

• Wales: Deaf Futsal - Alex and Chelcee learn the rules of Futsal and discover the issues around communication within this form of the game.

• Scotland: Amputee Football - how amputee football has taken off in Scotland in recent years through the Amputee Football Association Scotland.

Baroness Sue Campbell, The FA’s Director of Women's Football and the organisation’s strategic lead for disability football, said: “This year’s FA Disability Cup promises to be the most exciting yet, with some of the nation’s most successful grassroots teams set to compete to be crowned national champions in their respective disciplines. Disability football is a fast growing and important format of the game so to have all of the action broadcast live on BT Sport is fantastic news and will showcase the talent of all those involved, as well as inspiring newcomers to the sport.”

Jamie Hindhaugh, chief operating officer, BT Sport, said: “BT is proud of its rich heritage in supporting disability sport, having been a founding partner of the British Paralympic Association, sponsor of the 2012 Paralympics and backing dozens of disability sports projects through the BT and Premier League Disability Programme. We are looking forward to bringing fans highly accessible coverage of the 2021 FA Disability Cup, which is set to advance BT’s vision with the four Home Nation Football Associations to provide new opportunities for everyone to enjoy the benefits of football.”

David Clarke, Director of Services at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and England’s record goal scorer in blind football, said: “At RNIB, we are delighted that audio description is coming home for blind and partially sighted football fans. Previously, the best way to feel part of the action was to be in the stadium, but with BT Sport providing live audio description for all five finals of the FA Disability Cup, fans with sight loss can enjoy an enhanced listening experience. We hope this will demonstrate what is possible and inspire other broadcasters to consider offering live audio description for more of their sports output so blind or partially sighted fans never miss that crucial moment, whether it’s a vital goal, winning shot or game-changing action.”

In the 2019 edition of the competition, North West Scorpions won the Partially Sighted Final, while another North West team - CP North West FC - were winners in the Cerebral Palsy Final. In the Powerchair Final, Aspire FC were victorious, while Everton Amputees FC lifted the Amputees Cup and Merseyside Blind & VI FC clinched the Blind Cup.

The FA will be hosting the Amputee cup final in partnership with England Amputee Football Association, the Blind cup final in partnership with the National Blind Football League, the Cerebral Palsy cup final in partnership with CP Sport, the Partially Sighted cup final in partnership with the National Partially Sighted Football League and finally, the Powerchair cup final in partnership with the Wheelchair Football Association.

Ends

Notes:

*Sub-titles available to BT TV, Sky and Virgin Media viewers. See these links for more info:

• BT TV

• Virgin Media

• Sky

**BT Sport Ultimate is available as an additional subscription service to BT Sport customers via BT TV, Virgin Media and via the app for small and large screens. It is not available on the Sky satellite platform or btsport.com. For more information visit our website.

***for a full list of the large screen platforms that the BT Sport App is available on, visit our website.