Verizon Media to caption all new videos, donate $5M to advance accessibility

What you need to know:

• Starting April 1, 2021 and moving forward, Verizon Media will feature closed captioning on 100% of original and partner video content streamed in its own video players to its nearly 900 Million Consumers on Verizon Media sites and apps including flagship brand Yahoo
• Verizon Media will donate $5 million in media to a number of disability organizations to support their important advocacy work
• Verizon Media will also extend video ad captioning to its reserved and programmatic offerings

NEW YORK - Verizon Media, a leader in innovation, content and commerce, announced today at its Yahoo Build It Forward event that the company is donating $5 million in media to a number of disability organizations, including the National Association of the Deaf, the American Council of the Blind, and the American Association of People with Disabilities, in support of their advocacy work. In addition, Verizon Media will ramp up captioning efforts and commit to featuring closed captions on 100 percent of new user-facing video, now including partner content, that is streamed on our own video players starting on April 1, 2021 and going forward. Verizon Media will also extend video ad captioning to its reserved and programmatic offerings, enabling accessibility across all Verizon Media ad platforms.

“Our mission at Verizon Media is to be the most inclusive scaled digital platform in the industry putting our consumers at the center of what we do by building next-generation experiences that connect people to their passions and empower them to make informed choices affecting their everyday lives.'' said Joanna Lambert, Head of Consumer, Verizon Media. “At Verizon Media, we believe we have a responsibility to make a positive impact on society and power a more equitable and just society for everyone.”

Verizon Media is also launching its Accessibility Council, an internal leadership group created to provide oversight to educate employees and create best practices and accountability to ensure its content and products are accessible to everyone -- including the one billion people in the world who live with some type of disability.