[nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind Announces Agreement withTicketmaster

Wed Apr 27 22:15:46 UTC 2011

Hi, all.

I just want to make a few comments.  I'm always very glad to know 
that NFB has reached an agreement with a private company to make 
that company's Web site accessible.  My only comment is that in 
all these press releases, I've noticed that it has only talked 
about making sites accessible to screen reading software, and 
that's great! Screen readers are the most popular form of 
Internet access for the blind, if I'm not mistaken.  But I don't 
want NFB to overlook the fact that they also need to be 
accessible to people using electronic notetakers for their 
Internet access as well as those using screen readers.  I have 
both available, so if a site isn't accessible to the BrailleNote, 
I'll try JAWS.  But a friend of mine only uses his Braille-Note 
for Internet access both at school and at home, and hasn't gotten 
a laptop yet.  What about people like him? Also, it never ceases 
to amaze me that the NFB has to go so far as a lawsuit to get 
companies to make their Web sites accessible.  It sounds to me 
like the CEO of Live Nation, in that case, was totally 
cooperative with the NFB and would be glad to make their site 
accessible.  But if the CEO was that cooperative, they wouldn't 
have to take Live Nation to court.  The same with the law school 
admission site that we were told about yesterday.  What do you 
think of all this?

Chris Nusbaum

"A loss of sight, never a loss of vision!" (Camp Abilities motto)

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Freeh,Jessica" <JFreeh at nfb.org> (by way of David Andrews 
<dandrews at visi.com>)
To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 19:20:44 -0500
Subject: [nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind Announces 
Agreement withTicketmaster

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Chris
Danielsen
Linda Bandov Pazin

Director of Public
Relations
Live Nation Entertainment

National Federation of the
Blind                                                   (310) 
867-7000

(410) 659-9314, extension
2330
<mailto:lindabandov at livenation.com>lindabandov at livenation.com

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

<mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org

National Federation of the Blind
Announces Agreement with Ticketmaster

Ticketmaster Makes Website Fully Accessible and Fan-Friendly to 
Blind Users

Baltimore, Maryland (April 26, 2011): The National Federation of 
the
Blind (NFB), the nation's leading advocate for Internet access by
blind Americans, today announced a cooperative agreement with
Ticketmaster, the global event ticketing leader and one of the
world's top five eCommerce sites, to make its website fully
accessible to the blind.  Under the agreement, Ticketmaster will 
make
its website (<http://www.ticketmaster.com/>www.ticketmaster.com)
fully accessible to blind users utilizing screen access 
technology by
December 31, 2011.  Screen access technology converts what is on 
the
computer screen into synthesized speech or Braille.

Dr.  Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the 
Blind,
said: "An increasing number of goods and services are now offered
primarily over the Internet and Ticketmaster's extremely popular
ticket sales website is a prime example of this trend.  
Ticketmaster
customers gain many of the company's valuable benefits and 
services,
including access to special pre-sales and promotions, through its
website.  The National Federation of the Blind is pleased that
Ticketmaster has recognized the importance of providing equal 
access
to its website for its blind customers, and we look forward to
working with the company to achieve that goal.  The National
Federation of the Blind will continue to work tirelessly until 
the
blind have equal access to the full range of products and 
services
available to the public through the Internet and other 
information
technologies."

"For Ticketmaster, the future is all about the fans.  We want to
participate wherever and however so that fans can have the best
possible fan-friendly experience," said Nathan Hubbard, CEO of
Ticketmaster.  "Partnering with the National Federation of the 
Blind
is enabling us to address the needs of our blind fans, so that 
they
can have the same positive experience when purchasing tickets for
their favorite artists' performance or any live event.  We are
committed to working with NFB to enhance the Ticketmaster website 
so
that it's accessible and usable by all of our fans out there."

Pursuant to the agreement, Ticketmaster will develop a 
comprehensive
accessibility program that will include the development of an
accessibility guidelines manual, as well as the appointment of 
both
an accessibility coordinator and an accessibility committee.

Additionally, Ticketmaster will continue to work with officials 
of
the National Federation of the Blind to ensure that the 
Ticketmaster
services remain accessible to the blind.  Ticketmaster will 
submit
its website to the NFB Nonvisual Accessibility (NFB-NVA) Web
Certification program, a rigorous procedure by which websites and
applications that have made efforts to be accessible to the blind 
can
be identified and recognized.  The NFB-NVA Web Certification 
program
continuously monitors participating sites to ensure that they 
remain
compliant with certification criteria.  If a site remains 
accessible,
its certification is renewed on an annual or a version basis.  If
accessibility issues arise, the National Federation of the Blind 
will
work with the site developers to remedy them.

###

About the National Federation of the Blind

With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the 
Blind
is the largest and most influential membership organization of 
blind
people in the United States.  The NFB improves blind people's 
lives
through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs
encouraging independence and self-confidence.  It is the leading
force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's
blind.  In January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of 
the
Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center 
in
the United States for the blind led by the blind.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment is the world's leading live 
entertainment
and eCommerce company, comprised of four market leaders:
<http://www.ticketmaster.com/>Ticketmaster.com, Live Nation 
Concerts,
Front Line Management Group and Live Nation
Network.  <http://www.ticketmaster.com/>Ticketmaster.com is the
global event ticketing leader and one of the world's top five
eCommerce sites, with over 26 million monthly unique visitors.  
Live
Nation Concerts produces over 20,000 shows annually for more than
2,000 artists globally.  Front Line is the world's top artist
management company, representing over 250 artists.  These 
businesses
power Live Nation Network, the leading provider of entertainment
marketing solutions, enabling over 800 advertisers to tap into 
the
200 million consumers Live Nation delivers annually through its 
live
event and digital platforms.  For additional information, visit
<http://www.livenation.com/investors>www.livenation.com/investors