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- What Netflix is adding: scope and standout titles
- How SignUp Media delivers ASL: the Chrome plug-in in action
- Why sign language matters more than captions
- SignUp Media’s rapid ramp-up and production methods
- Founders and leadership driving the effort
- Industry context and responses
- What’s next for SignUp and streaming accessibility
Netflix is rolling out American Sign Language across dozens of family-friendly programs through a new collaboration with SignUp Media, aiming to make kids’ shows and movies more accessible to Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers.
What Netflix is adding: scope and standout titles
The service has commissioned sign language interpretations for roughly 200 hours of Kids & Family content. The work spans 73 titles from 41 franchises, and begins appearing on the platform today.
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- Netflix originals included: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, The Sea Beast, and Stranger Things: Tales From ’85.
- Licensed programs covered: Pokémon Horizons, The Magic School Bus Rides Again, CoComelon, and The Mitchells vs. The Machines.
This is SignUp Media’s first direct partnership with a major streamer, and Netflix selected the titles to receive ASL interpretation.
How SignUp Media delivers ASL: the Chrome plug-in in action
SignUp operates as a browser extension, not a separate video release. Once installed, users click the plug-in when they open a title on a streaming site. An interpreter appears in a movable window over the player.
- Interpreter window can be resized, moved, split-screened, or popped into a separate panel.
- Future updates will let viewers change background settings to aid Deaf/Blind users.
- SignUp supports multiple sign languages beyond ASL, including BSL and ISL.
The extension model removes the need to hunt for special ASL versions. It places interpretation where the viewer is already watching.
Why sign language matters more than captions
Advocates say captions do not equal comprehension for many Deaf viewers. Research cited by SignUp shows high global rates of limited reading levels among Deaf adults and delayed fluent reading in Deaf children.
- Captions convey text but not tone, emotion, or cultural nuance.
- Live or recorded interpreters provide visual grammar and storytelling the way signers naturally experience language.
Interpreters create a fuller, more immediate way to experience stories than captions alone can offer.
SignUp Media’s rapid ramp-up and production methods
Launched in 2021 with three interpreted titles, SignUp has scaled fast. The company raised a $1 million angel round and now lists around 25,000 monthly active users.
For the Netflix project, SignUp produced the 200 hours of ASL content in about two months. That involved a team of performers, ASL directors, and researchers.
- Preparation: Each hour of on-screen interpretation required roughly three to four hours of prep.
- Team size: More than a dozen performers worked on scripts, character research, and pacing.
- Authentic casting: Roles are matched by cultural and ethnic background when relevant.
Art and logistics: what the interpreters do
Directors of ASL help craft signs for unique elements like song lyrics or fictional names. Performers study characters and tone to preserve the story’s intent.
SignUp stresses authenticity, casting Deaf actors whose identities align with the source material whenever possible.
Founders and leadership driving the effort
SignUp began when founder and co-CEO Mariella Satow launched the service at 17 during a gap year. She later brought on co-CEO Harriet Seitler, a veteran entertainment marketing executive.
Satow has described kids’ media as a key early focus. Seitler emphasizes the timing and ambition behind building high-quality interpretations at scale.
Industry context and responses
Streaming platforms have been expanding accessibility features beyond captions and audio description. Other services have experimented with ASL releases for select films and series.
Netflix framed the partnership as part of broader accessibility efforts, noting ASL joins subtitles, SDH, dubbing, and audio description as options for members.
What’s next for SignUp and streaming accessibility
SignUp aims to broaden platform support to TVs and mobile devices, and to interpret trailers so Deaf viewers can preview content in ASL before they press play.
- Plans to strike more deals with other streamers.
- Expanding interpreted catalog beyond kids and family titles.
- Enhancing customization for users with visual or cognitive needs.
The company sees sign language as a language, not merely an accommodation, and is pursuing partnerships to normalize interpreted content across streaming platforms.
