MeAC – Measuring Progress of eAccessibility in Europe

Legislation/regulations

Analogue TV

Section 713 of the Telecommunications Act 1996 and related FCC regulations set out requirements with regard to closed captioning of video programming and associated technology receivers. The rules provide that open captioning or subtitles in the language of the target audience may be used in lieu of closed captioning. Different closed captioning schedules apply to new, pre-rule, and Spanish language programming.

New Programming: As of January 1, 2006, all “new” English language programming, defined as analogue programming first published or exhibited on or after January 1, 1998, and digital programming first aired on or after July 1, 2002, must be captioned, with some exceptions.

“Pre-Rule” Programming: Analogue programming first shown before January 1, 1998 and digital programming first shown before July 1, 2002, are called “Pre-Rule Programming.” Pre-Rule Programming that is not exempt from the closed captioning rules must be captioned as follows:

• January 1, 2003, to December 31, 2007: 30 percent of programming per channel per quarter.
• January 1, 2008, and thereafter: 75 percent of programming per channel per quarter.

Because captioning is fairly new to Spanish language program providers, the FCC allows them a longer time to provide captioned programming.

There are two categories of exemptions from the closed captioning rules:

• Self-implementing exemptions operate automatically and programmers do not need to petition the FCC. Examples include public service announcements that are shorter than 10 minutes and are not paid for with federal dollars, programming shown in the early morning hours (from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. local time), and programming that is primarily textual in nature. There is also an exemption for non-news programming with no repeat value that is locally produced by the video programming distributor.
• Exemptions Based on Undue Burden: The FCC has established procedures for petitioning for an exemption from the closed captioning rules when compliance would pose an undue burden.

Access to emergency information is covered by Section 713 of the Telecommunications Act. Under this section, the FCC implements rules that require broadcasters, cable operators, and other multichannel video programming distributors to make emergency information that they provide to their viewers accessible to persons with hearing and vision disabilities (e.g., pertaining to storms, school closings, and other emergencies).

With regard to audio (video) description, the FCC had introduced rules on audio description, however these were struck down by court ruling (November 2002). (The rules required the major networks and cable channels in the top 25 television markets to present at least four hours of described programming per week. The FCC further required that video described programs be made available where TV stations not in the top 25 markets had the equipment to do so.) The basis for the decision was that the enabling legislation (in the Telecoms Act), although it called for inquiries on both closed captions and video description, only specified that close captioning must be implemented after the inquiry.

A bill to reinstate the video description requirements was prepared in 2005 but has not been enacted (H.R.951: Video Description Restoration Act of 2005). Similarly, a draft discussion Act (the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act) was submitted on 21st December 2007. This Act aims to restore the audio description rules previously struck out by the Court, widens the scope of equipment that must enable closed captioning and audio description, and also provides for the accessibility of navigational programming guides.

Currently there is a residual amount of video description on television, made available from the time when the FCC mandate went into effect in April 2002.

With regard to equipment, the Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990 and related rules require that television receivers with picture screens 13 inches or larger contain built-in decoder circuitry designed to display closed captioned television transmissions. The Act also requires the FCC to ensure that closed captioning services continue to be available to consumers as new technology is developed.

Digital TV

Section 713 of the Telecommunications Act applies to both analogue and digital television and by federal law, most TV stations with switch over to digital broadcastong on 17 February 2009.

With regard to equipment, the FCC amended its rules in 1991 to include standards for the display of closed captioned text on analogue television receivers. The development of digital broadcasting required updating of the rules and in 2000 the FCC incorporated sections of industry standard EIA-708-B, “Digital Television (DTV) Closed Captioning” into its rules. The standard provides instructions for the encoding, delivery, and display of closed captioning information for digital television systems. The Commission said that it would require manufacturers to include compliant DTV closed captioning decoder circuitry in DTV devices by July 1, 2002. Devices covered under the rules include DTV sets with integrated “widescreen” displays measuring at least 7.8 inches vertically, DTV sets with conventional displays measuring at least 13 inches vertically, and stand-alone DTV tuners, whether or not they are marketed with display screens.

The Report and Order contains provisions that will allow viewers to choose and alter the colour, size, and font of their captioning and to choose between multiple streams of captioning, such as “easy reader” or alternate language captioning. The Commission said that requiring decoders to be able to respond to these various features is necessary to ensure that closed captioning will be accessible for the greatest number of persons who are deaf and hard of hearing.

The Order requires that cable providers and other multichannel video programming distributors transmit captions in a format that will be understandable to the decoder circuitry in digital television receivers.

Other initiatives

No other initiatives reported.

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