Harkins Theatres To Make All Theaters Accessible

August 2011

Harkins Theatres announced today that newly available technology will be made available on virtually all screens and locations to provide closed captioning for the hearing impaired and descriptive narration for the visually impaired. Installation is set to begin in late fall 2011, with all closed captioning and narration technology expected to be installed by the end of 2012.

This groundbreaking technology is intended to provide the disabled community complete access to enjoy the moviegoing experience at any time. For those who are hearing impaired, personal closed captioning devices with digital text displays that attach to seat cup holders will be available. This is in addition to the hearing impaired headsets that provide an amplified assisted listening soundtrack, which are currently available. Those who are visually impaired can take advantage of Harkins' descriptive narration devices; headsets that provide not only dialogue and sound effects, but audio descriptions of action taking place on the screen.

"We are thrilled to introduce this new technology to our moviegoers." says Mike Bowers, President and COO of Harkins Theatres. "After years of research and investigation we've found the most advanced solution, and are gratified that we can truly provide the Ultimate Moviegoing experience to everyone. We are grateful for the support, aid and patience of those in the disabled community as we worked for a viable solution to this challenge."

While some short term obstacles remain for availability of narrated/captioned films from some studios, full-size IMAX presentations and some foreign films, Harkins Theatres is excited to be on the forefront of this new era.

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