[announce] A Press Release About Major League Baseball's Accessible Mobile App

[Melanie Brunson]

Hello all,

 

Below is a press release that was issued earlier this week.  We share this
with you

not only to publicize the latest initiative launched by Major League
Baseball, but

to highlight the first instance that a major sports and entertainment
content provider

has committed to ensuring that its application for the iPhone and iPad is
accessible

to blind consumers.  MLB's initiative is the result of Structured
Negotiations with

the American Council of the Blind, the Bay State Council of the Blind, and
the California

Council of the Blind.

Begin text of release.

LANDMARK PROGRAM TO GIVE FANS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS ENHANCED ACCESS TO
MLB.COM

CONTINUES EXPANSION

New York (June 5, 2012) - Fans with visual impairments will gain expanded
accessibility

to baseball through the continuation of a joint collaboration between MLB
Advanced

Media, L.P. (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major
League Baseball,

the American Council of the Blind, Bay State Council of the Blind and
California

Council of the Blind. MLBAM has maintained its leadership position among
sports and

entertainment companies through its continued implementation of technologies
to ensure

fans with visual impairments have access to online content, features and
mobile applications.

Today's announcement furthers an initiative begun by MLBAM in February 2010,
when

it began the landmark program to implement functional improvements for
access by

the visually impaired to MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League
Baseball,

and all 30 individual Club sites. In July 2011, MLBAM was awarded the
American Council

of the Blind's prestigious Vernon Henley Media Award for its efforts and
most recently

was named a recipient of the American Foundation for the Blind's 2012 Access
Award.

A key component of the 2012 MLB season will be enhanced capabilities for
visually

impaired fans within MLB.com At BatT, its award-winning mobile application
for iPhone

and iPad. Like sighted fans, blind fans also are increasingly turning to
mobile devices

to access their baseball content. MLBAM's commitment to continued
accessibility enhancements

for fans with visual impairments has been praised by leaders of
organizations representing

those constituents.

"The accessibility of applications for mobile devices is a critical step in
ensuring

that blind consumers are able to keep pace and are afforded easy access to
changing

technologies," noted ACB officer and Seattle Mariners fan Marlaina Lieberg.
"MLBAM's

efforts break new ground as being the first by a major U.S. sports and
entertainment

content provider involving improved accessibility for the visually impaired
to mobile

applications. We applaud MLBAM and urge others in these industries to follow
its

lead."

MLB.com will continue to abide by guidelines issued by the Web Accessibility
Initiative

(WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to ensure improved
accessibility for

the blind to its websites and mobile applications. The web content
accessibility

guidelines are of particular benefit to blind baseball fans who use a screen
reader,

through which information on a page is read aloud, or magnification
technology on

their computers, as well as those who rely on a keyboard instead of a mouse.

About MLBAM

Established in June 2000 following a unanimous vote by the 30 Major League
Baseball

club owners to centralize all of Baseball's Internet operations, MLB
Advanced Media

LP (MLBAM) is the interactive media and internet company of Major League
Baseball.

MLBAM manages the official league site,

www.MLB.com

, and each of the 30

individual Club sites to create the most comprehensive Major League Baseball
resource

on the Internet. MLB.com offers fans the most complete baseball information
and interactivity

on the web, including up-to-date statistics, game previews and summaries,
extensive

historical information, online ticket sales, baseball merchandise,
authenticated

memorabilia and collectibles, fantasy games, live full-game video webcasts
and on-demand

highlights, live and archived audio broadcasts of every game, Gameday
pitch-by-pitch

application, around-the-clock hosted and specialty video programming and
complete

blogging capabilities. MLB.com offers more live events on the Internet than
any other

website in the world.

About the American Council of the Blind (ACB), Bay State Council of the
Blind (BSCB)

and the California Council of the Blind (CCB)

The American Council of the Blind is a national consumer-based advocacy
organization

working on behalf of blind and visually impaired Americans throughout the
country,

with members organized through seventy state and special interest
affiliates. The

Bay State and California Councils are the Massachusetts and California
affiliates

of the ACB. The ACB, BSCB and CCB are dedicated to improving the quality of
life,

equality of opportunity and independence of all people who have visual
impairments.

Their members and affiliated organizations have a long history of commitment
to the

advancement of policies and programs which will enhance independence for
people who

are blind and visually impaired. Many members of ACB, BSCB and CCB are
baseball fans.

More information about the organizations can be found by visiting by
visiting

www.acb.org

,

www.ccbnet.org

, and

http://www.acb.org/baystate/

.

Media Contacts

For MLBAM

Matthew Gould, (212) 485-8959,

matthew.gould at mlb.com

For ACB, BSCB and CCB

Brian Charlson, 617-501-5752,

brian.charlson at carroll.org

Mitch Pomerantz, 626-372-5150,

mitch.pomerantz at earthlink.net

Donna Pomerantz, 626-233-2991,

donna.pomerantz at ccbnet.org

 

 

Melanie Brunson, Esq.

Executive Director

American Council of the Blind

2200 Wilson Blvd. Suite #650

Arlington, VA 22201

(202) 467-5081-phone

(703) 465-5085-fax

1-800-424-8666- ACB Toll Free

mbrunson at acb.org

www.acb.org

 

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