Case Studies Rogers & Broadcast Accessibility Fund
Rogers & Broadcast Accessibility Fund
IMPROVING TELEVISION ACCESSIBILITY FOR CANADIANS
A new, open-source set-top box design by Rogers will enhance the TV experience of visually-impaired Canadians.
The challenge
Today’s TV set-top boxes were not designed with accessibility in mind, making them difficult or impossible to use by low-vision and nonsighted Canadians. To ensure that all Canadians have equal access to the same TV content, the Broadcast Accessibility Fund (BAF) gave communications giant Rogers a grant to develop an open source solution that could be used by all Canadian TV providers.
This research project – which is part of a widespread initiative to improve accessibility of all of our services – would not have been possible without Akendi’s research, testing, and insights.
User Experience Researcher, Rogers
Vincent Primeau
Our approach
Rogers partnered with Akendi to help meet the accessibility goals set by the BAF. Through comprehensive user research and journey mapping, Akendi captured and communicated the most common goals and behaviours of low-vision and non-sighted users.
Based on Akendi’s findings and recommendations, Rogers developed a more accessible screenreading prototype. Akendi then conducted usability tests of the prototype in users’ homes to help Rogers further hone the solution.
In addition to successfully meeting the requirements of the BAF research grant, the joint efforts of Rogers and Akendi will directly impact the lives of low-vision and non-sighted Canadians. The project’s design guideline report is now publicly available, which will help product designers from any telecom company deliver a more accessible television experience.
