3Play Media Taps Former NCI Chief To Lead Live Captioning Product

3Play Media, a video accessibility provider, announced today that it has hired Jill Brooks, former president and chief operating officer of the National Captioning Institute, to lead its live video captioning efforts.

“We are thrilled to bring Jill, an accessibility trailblazer, to 3Play Media to help us redefine the live captioning market,” Chris Antunes, co-CEO and co-founder, 3Play Media, said. “Jill has seen so much evolution in the video captioning market, but the next clear hurdle is live, which hasn’t seen much innovation since its inception 40-plus years ago.”

Brooks spent 23 years at the nonprofit NCI. Brooks spent her early years at the organization in various production roles before inventing the discipline of voice writing — using voice recognition technology for real-time captioning — at NCI. From 2014 to 2015, she was executive vice president and COO before becoming president and COO in 2015, a role which held through 2018.

“When I entered the field, captioning was still optional — now failure to do so leads to fines from governing bodies protecting the rights of those that have disabilities,” said Brooks, who will serve as senior director of live operations at 3Play Media. “That was a big evolution, but we’re on the precipice of the next with live video and voice writing. With more companies exploring live video because of its ability to engage customers, drive more views, facilitate virtual communication, and ultimately build a stronger brand, the traditional hardware-based approach to captioning live video is no longer scalable. The industry needs new alternatives, and that’s what 3Play Media will deliver.”

The live streaming industry is forecast to reach $184.27 billion by 2027, according to Tech Jury. According to 3Play Media’s State of Captioning annual report, 60% of respondents are using live captioning.