[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 87 (Friday, May 4, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26550-26551]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10815]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[CG Docket No. 06-181; DA 12-514]


Notice of Need To File Updated Information for Some Closed 
Captioning Exemption Petitions

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission, via the Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau (Bureau) alerts certain entities that filed 
petitions for exemption from the Commission's closed captioning rules 
prior to the passage of the Twenty-First Century Communications and 
Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA), of the need to either (1) 
affirm that the information provided in their previously submitted 
petition is still accurate and up-to-date, (2) update previously 
submitted petitions with the information indicated below, or (3) 
withdraw their previously submitted petitions. The intended action is 
to ensure that information provided in each petition is current and 
accurate.

DATES: Effective May 4, 2012, Petitions subject to document DA 12-514 
will be dismissed on July 5, 2012, without prejudice to filing a new 
petition for exemption, if not affirmed, updated, or withdrawn as set 
forth in document DA 12-514.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Traci Randolph, Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, at (202) 418-0569 (voice), (202) 418-0537 
(TTY); email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's public 
notice, document DA 12-514, released April 2, 2012, in CG Docket No. 
06-181. The full text of document DA 12-514 and copies of any 
subsequently filed documents in this matter will be available for 
public inspection and copying during regular business hours at the FCC 
Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-
A257, Washington, DC 20554. Document DA 12-514 and copies of 
subsequently filed documents in this matter may also be purchased from 
the Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copying and Printing, 
Inc. (BCPI), at Portals II, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-B402, 
Washington, DC 20554. Customers may contact BCPI at its Web site: 
http://www.bcpiweb.com, or by calling (202) 488-5300. Document DA 12-
514 and the Appendix listing Unresolved Petitions for Individual Closed 
Captioning Exemptions can also be downloaded in Word or Portable 
Document Format (PDF) at: http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/economically-burdensome-exemption-closed-captioning-requirements.

Synopsis

    From October 2005 through August 2006, the Commission received 
approximately 600 petitions for individual closed captioning exemptions 
under section 713(d)(3) of the Act. In 2006, the Commission's Consumer 
and Governmental Affairs Bureau (Bureau) granted two of these petitions 
in the Anglers Order, 21 FCC Rcd 10094, and during the weeks that 
followed, granted an additional 303 petitions in reliance on the 
reasoning of the Anglers Order. In 2006, the Commission received an 
Application for Review that challenged the exemptions granted in and 
those that relied on the Anglers Order. On October 20, 2011, the FCC 
granted the Application for Review, and in the Anglers Reversal MO&O, 
published at 76 FR 67376, November 1, 2011; 76 FR 67377, November 1, 
2011; and at 76 FR 67397, November 1, 2011, reversed these exemptions. 
The Anglers Reversal MO&O also set forth guidance on the information 
and documentation that closed captioning petitions should contain, 
along with standards that the Bureau should use to determine when a 
closed captioning exemption is warranted.
    At issue in document DA 12-514 are the unresolved petitions for 
exemption that are not subject to the Anglers Reversal MO&O, and that 
were filed before passage of the CVAA. Although some of these petitions 
were previously placed on public notice, no decision to grant or to 
deny was ever made regarding these petitions. The Bureau is now ready 
to apply the standards restored by the Anglers Reversal MO&O to resolve 
the claims for an exemption by these petitioners. However, the Bureau 
realizes that considerable time has passed since many of these 
petitions were first filed, and that various circumstances including, 
but not limited to, the financial status of the petitioners and the 
cost of captioning, may have changed.

[[Page 26551]]

    Accordingly, in order to ensure that information provided in each 
petition is current and accurate, the Bureau requires each petitioner 
whose petition is listed in document DA 12-514 to do one of the 
following by July 5, 2012: (1) File an affirmation with the FCC that 
its previously submitted petition and supporting information is 
accurate and up-to-date; (2) file updated information in accordance 
with the factors listed below to support its claim that captioning its 
program(s) would be economically burdensome; or (3) withdraw its 
previously submitted petition.
    Any petitioner listed in document DA 12-514 that does not take one 
of the steps listed above by July 5, 2012, will have its pending 
petition dismissed without prejudice on July 5, 2012. A petitioner that 
is interested in continuing to request a closed captioning exemption 
for its programming must include up-to-date evidence, supported by 
affidavit, demonstrating that it would be economically burdensome to 
provide closed captioning on the specific programming for which an 
exemption is sought. Specifically, each petition should contain current 
and detailed documentation, in accordance with the original factors 
outlined in section 713(e) of the Act and Sec.  79.1(f) of Commission's 
rules, to support a claim that providing closed captions would be 
economically burdensome (would result in a ``significant difficulty or 
expense'') as defined by the following criteria: (1) The nature and 
cost of the closed captions for the programming; (2) the impact on the 
operation of the provider or program owner; (3) the financial resources 
of the provider or program owner; and (4) the type of operations of the 
provider or program owner.
    In order to make the above showing that providing captioning would 
be economically burdensome, each petitioner must:
     Provide documentation of its financial status sufficient 
to demonstrate its inability to afford closed captioning--for example, 
profit and loss statements or bank statement information. (This 
documentation should not just include the resources devoted to or the 
costs associated with the television program(s) at issue);
     Provide information about the costs of captioning the 
specific program for which the exemption is sought;
     Verify that it has sought closed captioning assistance 
(e.g., funding, services) from its video programming distributor and 
note the extent to which such assistance has been provided or rejected;
     Verify that it has sought additional sponsorship sources 
or other sources of revenue for captioning, and show that, even if 
these efforts have not successfully produced assistance, it does not 
otherwise have the means to provide captioning for its programming; and
     Provide information on the type of its operation(s) and 
the impact that providing captions would have on its programming 
activities, for example, the extent to which its programming might not 
be shown if it is required to provide captions.
    In addition, each petitioner may describe other factors that it 
deems relevant to an exemption determination, as well as any 
alternatives that could be a reasonable substitute for the closed 
captioning requirements. Each petition should also contain a specific 
list of names of the program(s) for which the petitioner is seeking an 
exemption. Finally, as noted above, each petition must be supported by 
an affidavit. Failure to support an exemption request with adequate 
explanation and evidence to make these showings, supported by an 
affidavit, will result in dismissal of the request.
    Each updated petition that provides sufficient information will be 
placed on public notice to allow the public to comment on the merits of 
the petition. After giving the public an opportunity to submit 
comments, the Bureau will conduct an individual review of each petition 
to determine the extent to which providing captioning would be 
economically burdensome for the petitioner, based on information 
provided in the petition and any comments received, and will issue an 
order either granting or denying the petition.

Federal Communications Commission.
Karen Peltz Strauss,
Deputy Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2012-10815 Filed 5-3-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P