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Company: ITV SignPost
Project: BSL TV
Dates: Jan 2008 to Dec 2009
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How did the project start?
BSL TV is a Phase 2 development of our sign language accessible website www.signpostbsl.com which ITV SignPost launched in 2003 for deaf people. We have not yet changed the URL, but have started to add new content to the existing website which will morph into a one-stop shop for news, entertainment and information for the UK's sign community - for deaf people, their family and friends, professionals who work with them and those in mainstream or adult education who are learning British Sign language. The philosophy is simple - sign language users living in our knowledge-based society can only thrive if they have full access to information in their own language. bsl.tv will provide that service free to web users. First steps in the 2008-09 project have included a programme of daily updates to keep the home page vibrant and help it attract a sticky community. We have launched an international and national daily news service in BSL, written, signed and uploaded in-house. This makes world news available 24/5 on weekdays, and next year we plan to move to 24/7 coverage as viewer numbers increase. Three of the four-person team working on bsl.tv full-time are North East graduates, recruited specifically to create online content for the target audience.
What options did you consider?
We considered a major launch of bsl.tv as a revamped website, but this would have delayed the provision of vital new services. Instead we have opted for change by accretion, building on our existing viewer numbers through a phased introduction of new content. After creating our new daily news service, our next enhancement will be the provision of an InfoZone in BSL providing sign access to a mass of everyday information which deaf people cannot easily understand when using English, their second and sometimes third language. It will include the largest sign database ever produced of medical conditions, symptoms and advice, supplementing the service provided by NHS Direct which does not carry BSL access. Other generic sponsored sections of the InfoZone will cover safety issues (home, personal, work etc.), how deaf people can engage in modern citizenship, a celebration of deaf talent from across the globe with profiles of individuals and their achievements, advice on travel, on communications and on personal finance - one of the key access issues consistently raised by Deaf people.
What help and expertise did you receive?
All our creativity - in both content and technical - is driven by a talented young in-house team which is absolutely committed to creating equality in communications. We have consulted constantly with deaf colleagues about what they, as stakeholders, will want from this website. ITV's Content Store - a custom-built digital archive of thousands of hours of TV programmes - will from 2009 provide streamed access to signed TV programmes, creating new BSL access to entertainment.
Did you face any challenges or learn any lessons?
The major challenge is in monetising this venture - we have no public service remit to narrowcast bsl.tv via the web. We are hiring a sales and sponsorship executive to enhance our team. S/he will deliver the advertising, sponsorship and profile for the website which will ensure its future growth and increased take-up. It's also become clear that the demand for a welter of information accessible in BSL is much greater than we at first believed. The potential scale and scope of bsl.tv is vast.
What are the outcomes and how has it improved your business?
The number of unique visits to our news pages uplifted from 21183 in December to 24274 in February, an increase of 15%. These are small figures, but large in the sign community which only numbers about 350,000 deaf and hearing users in the UK. And this increase has come before any publicity about the launch in deaf community magazines etc. We are also considering the radical step of sponsorship for this international web-based news site, something which we could not do on TV. As the numbers grow, the additional traffic will enhance our plans to sell advertising space across the website before the year end.
What are your plans for the future?
More growth, more creative development and continued care about quality are the bedrock of our plans to corner this niche business market - while producing a communications platform which is of genuine social worth.
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