Last week, Hulu rolled out two accessibility enhancements to improve the navigation and experience of the streaming provider's content, especially for people who are blind or have visual impairments.
The updates, which are already available on Roku and will become available more broadly in the upcoming weeks, are:
Most people are likely to appreciate the easier-to-read text. In the previous design, white font and icons were placed over colorful gradients on the lighter end of the spectrum. The colors were striking and unique from a brand perspective, but they made text quite obviously difficult to read, having low contrast when paired with white text.
The new color choices are darker, making the text much easier to read and requiring less strain to do so. This enhancement is applied automatically for everyone.
The screen reader is being introduced to help people, primarily those who are blind or have visual impairments, navigate the platform. Also called the "audio guide" on some devices, the screen reader can be turned on in a device's settings.
Related: Checklist for Creating Accessible Videos
These new features come roughly a year after Hulu's commitment to accessibility as part of a settlement agreement with the American Council of the Blind and the Bay State Council of the Blind.
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