The FCC has again updated their regulations for Closed Caption compliance. These updates are effective as of March 16th, 2015. These particular regulations are especially important for broadcasters and content programmers. Here's what you need to know.
Record Keeping Section 79.1(c)(3)
Programs with existing captions must be passed through to live television by the broadcaster. This is in addition to stations being required to keep their captioning equipment up-to-date and in working order, and keep 2- years of records of this maintenance and upkeep. In addition, they must document how they monitor and transmit closed captions, as well as all of the technical equipment checks that were performed on their captioning infrastructure.
Compliance Procedures & Reporting Section 79.1(e)(11)(v)
This section outlines requirements for filing a complaint against a station that is not in compliance. Complaints must include channel number, network, call sign, TV program in violation, and details of the captioning problem. It also offer broadcasters guidelines on how these complaints are handled by the FCC. First, the station is notified by the FCC that a complaint has been registered against them. From there, the station has 30 days to reply with a statement that outlines the corrective steps they have taken to fix the issues outlined in the complaint. If complaints for a given issues re-occur within 30 days, the station must submit and action plan to the FCC that outlines what the station is doing to correct these issues. Then, the station must complete spot-checks of it's captioning equipment and procedures to ensure compliance. The station must then report to the FCC within 180 days. If this is not completed and non-compliance continues, the station may be required to pay fines. Stations using Electronic Newsroom Techniques (ENT) must submit to the FCC, with the help of viewers who rely on captions, a report on their experiences using the ENT procedures. This must be done by June 30, 2015.
Captioning Quality Requirements Section 79.1(j)(1)
Broadcasters are now required to document the captioning certification of from the programmers that it receives content from. Documentation must include proof that the programmer meets existing quality standards, follows established best practices, and if they are exempt, have documented their exemption. A certificate of exemption must exist if this is the case. Stations can usually fulfill this obligation with certification found on the programmer's web site or other public listing. If the station requests certification from the programmer, they have 30 days to respond accordingly. If the programmer fails to do this, the station must report it to the FCC within 30 days. If stations comply with these procedure they will not be held liable.
Captioning Best Practices Section 79.1(k)
These are guidelines for the improvement of caption quality. These basically ensure that the content programmers are following established guidelines for delivering closed captions with content. For instance, programmers should provide captioning vendors with scripts, spelling of proper nouns, or song lyrics to streamline the captioning process and accuracy.
Typically, broadcasters are more aware of the these regulations than content creators. As of today, broadcasters will begin the process of educating programmers on the new requirements to ensure compliance.
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The FCC has again updated their regulations for Closed Caption compliance. These updates are effective as of March 16th, 2015. These particular regulations are especially important for broadcasters and content programmers. Here's what you need to know.
