FCC Approves Rules for Caption Quality
The FCC approved rules at Thursday’s commission meeting requiring video closed captions adhere to standards for quality. As expected (CD Feb 7 p8; Feb 20 p9), the requirements don’t set technical, quantitative standards for caption quality, but require video programming distributors (VPDs) to ensure that their captions are accurate, synchronized to the content, complete and properly placed on the screen, according to Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau staff. The new rules also contain higher standards for captions for TV news programs and establish best practices for video programmers and captioning vendors.
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Along with the captioning order, the commission issued a declaratory ruling “clarifying” some existing captioning rules, and an FNPRM seeking comment on whether VPDs should be held responsible for captioning issues and ways to enhance live captioning. “TV programming should be as understandable to a non-hearing person as it is to a person who can hear,” said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Executive Director Claude Stout told the commission meeting the vote was “historic” and “pivotal.” Quality captions “keep us in the loop,” said Stout, who is hearing-impaired.
Rosenworcel and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler indicated the commission could approve more caption rules shortly. Increasing online consumption of TV shows in clip form means that commission rules requiring full episodes of TV shows to be captioned online aren’t sufficient, Rosenworcel said. The commission “fell short” on IP video clips, she said. “This is something we need to fix.” The commission recently sought comment on requiring captioning for IP clips after consumer groups filed a petition for reconsideration of the FCC’s IP closed captioning rules (CD Feb 5 p10). Wheeler said he agreed with Rosenworcel. “I think we heard today -- two votes on clips,” he said.
Though the accuracy, synchronization, quality and placement standards are “nontechnical” rather than quantitative, the rules establish requirements for caption quality, bureau staff told the meeting. To meet the accuracy standard, captions “must match the spoken words in the dialogue and convey background noises and other sounds to the fullest extent possible,” said an FCC news release (http://fcc.us/1nRsNjg). The rules also take into account the greater difficulty of captioning live and near-live programming in applying those standards, said acting CGB Chief Kris Monteith. Broadcasters and multichannel video programming distributors had filed comments warning that it would difficult for live captioning to comply with higher quality standards.
Broadcasters had warned of similar problems if the FCC prevented smaller stations from using electronic newsroom technique. In ENT, captions for news programming are created using the pre-written script for the program rather than the actual content, which may differ from the script. The new rules require broadcasters that use ENT to pre-script more of their programming, and supplement segments that can’t be scripted with crawls and other “visual information,” said the CGB. NAB said it believes “that, given the current state of captioning technology and the marketplace, improved ENT is the best way for many television broadcasters to caption their news with systems that are already in place.”
NCTA and NAB praised the commission for including best practices for programmers and captioners in the rules. The standards “will facilitate identification of captioning issues with the goal of positive solutions, not simply punitive actions,” NAB said. The best practices encourage programmers to provide high quality audio to facilitate better captioning and to provide captioners with advance access to scripts. Caption providers are encouraged to ensure proper training of captioners and that captioning equipment is functional. DirecTV, Dish Network and Comcast-NBCUniversal had all asked the commission to look to video programmers when enforcing caption complaints (CD Feb 20 p12).
The FNPRM issued along with the order seeks comment on “reapportioning some of the captioning responsibilities” to programmers and captioners and on technology for improving live captioning, said bureau staff. It also seeks comment on a proposed “online dashboard” that would allow consumers to monitor the progress of their complaints to the FCC, said Commissioner Ajit Pai. He said the idea mimics a concept he would like to see the entire FCC adopt to promote transparency and “allow the public to see how we're doing.” Pai and other commissioners also condemned the 10-year delay between the initial request from consumer groups for improvements on caption quality and Thursday’s vote. The delay forced the commission to work from an old record, he said. “We should have arrived at this destination much sooner,” Pai said. -- Monty Tayloe (mtayloe@warren-news.com)