The NAD applauds the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and especially Chairman Wheeler for extending the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010’s (CVAA) IP Closed Captioning rules to video clips. The CVAA requires that programs shown on television with captions must be captioned when later shown online. However, the FCC, under the previous Chairman, exempted video clips and concluded that the IP Closed Captioning rules only applied to full-length programs shown online. This change makes sure that deaf and hard of hearing people will have access to online video clips which were previously shown on television with captions. All five Commissioners supported the reversal.
Members of our community have long been frustrated with limited access to online video clips such as all-important news clips which are often posted online before any written articles. Many of these clips are also shared through social media making us even more frustrated when they are not captioned.
Straight lift clips, which contain a single excerpt of a captioned television program with the same video and audio that was presented on television must be captioned after January 1, 2016. The FCC adopted additional deadlines and grace periods depending on different types of video clips. The NAD will continue to address these issues and push hard for phase-outs of exemptions and grace periods.
The NAD played a key role in persuading the FCC to reverse its earlier decision and especially thanks Senator Markey and Senator Pryor for their strong support in pushing for this reversal.
Additional links:
- Order and FNPRM
- FCC Press Release
- Chairman Wheeler Statement
- Commissioner Clyburn Statement
- Commissioner Rosenworcel Statement
- Commissioner Pai Statement