ITV, in partnership with Guinness, is bringing live audio description commentary to its coverage of four matches during the Guinness Men’s 6 Nations, making the tournament more accessible and inclusive for blind and partially sighted fans.

The service will be available during ITV’s coverage of Ireland v England on Saturday 1st February, England v France on Saturday 8th February, England v Scotland on Saturday 22nd February and England v Italy on Sunday 9th March.

The audio commentary was launched as an initial trial during last year’s Championship during two matches, the first time the technology had been used for a UK broadcast sporting event, and is being rolled out more widely, for double the number of games this year. It is accessed simply by turning on the audio description function on a TV.

The commentary will be provided by Dave Rogers, a commentator and trained audio describer, and Joe Byrnes, Twickenham’s resident descriptive commentator. ITV’s descriptive commentary aims to bring to life TV pictures for a blind and visually impaired audience, giving a level of visual detail of the action and the surrounding stadium atmosphere far beyond the standard broadcast commentary.

Anna MacDonald, Marketing Director for Guinness, said: “Through our partnership with the Guinness Men’s and Guinness Women’s Six Nations, we are committed to doing what we can to champion diversity and inclusion and ensure that rugby is something that can be enjoyed by all fans. We are committed to helping make each incredible moment of these Championships come alive in a way that can enrich the experience for everyone. Our continued partnership with ITV and RNIB is just one way that we aim to do this.”

Mark Trinder, ITV Director of Commercial Sales and Partnerships said: “We had a fantastic response to our live audio description commentary trial last year and, working with Guinness, it’s brilliant news that we’re able to extend it to more matches during this year’s tournament. We’re committed to making our content as accessible as possible and this is a great example of making sure as many fans as possible get to experience this year’s 6 Nations.”

John Paton, Media, Culture and Immersive Technologies Manager at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), said: “It’s fantastic news that ITV and Guinness have extended the number of Six Nations matches that will have audio description available. This is a huge step forward in making sports available for blind and partially sighted viewers across the UK, and sets a great example of how simple steps can be taken to making sports inclusive for everyone.”