[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 234 (Wednesday, December 5, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72348-72349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-29358]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[CG Docket No. 06-181; DA 12-1833]


Notice of Exemption Dismissals and Obligation To Begin Providing 
Closed Captioning

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission, via the Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau (Bureau) identifies the petitions that were 
dismissed pursuant to the procedures described in the Bureau's April 
2012 Public Notice. Also, this document serves to remind these 
petitioners of their obligation to provide closed captioning, unless 
they have already filed a new petition for exemption with the 
Commission.

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 synopsis of the Commission's 
Public Notice, document DA 12-1833, released November 14, 2012, in CG 
Docket No. 06-181. The full text of this document 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 12-1833 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-
1833 and the Appendix listing the petitions dismissed on July 5, 2012, 
pursuant to DA 12-514 can also be downloaded in Word or Portable 
Document Format (PDF) at: http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/economically-burdensome-exemption-closed-captioning-requirements.

Synopsis

    The April 2012 Public Notice addressed unresolved petitions for 
exemption that were filed before passage of the Twenty-First Century 
Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) on October 8, 2010. 
Although some of these petitions were previously placed on public 
notice, no decision to grant or to deny was ever made regarding these 
petitions. Because considerable time had passed since many of these 
petitions were first filed, and various circumstances including, but 
not limited to, the financial status of the petitioners and the cost of 
captioning may have changed, the Bureau required each petitioner whose 
petition was listed in the April 2012 Public Notice to do one of the 
following by July 5, 2012: (1) File an affirmation with the Commission 
that its previously submitted petition and supporting information were 
accurate and up-to-date; (2) file updated information in accordance 
with the Commission's rules to support its claim that captioning its 
program(s) would be economically burdensome; or (3) withdraw its 
previously submitted petition. The April 2012 Public Notice alerted 
petitioners that if they did not take one of the steps listed above by 
July 5, 2012, their petitions would be dismissed without prejudice on 
July 5, 2012. The Bureau sent a copy of the April 2012 Public Notice, 
along with instructions on filing updated information, by certified 
mail, return receipt requested, to each petitioner at its last known 
address.
    The petitioners listed in the document DA 12-1833 Appendix did not 
take one of the above steps by July 5, 2012; therefore, their 
respective petitions were dismissed on July 5, 2012. Accordingly, these 
petitioners were required to begin captioning their programs on July 6, 
2012. In this regard, the Bureau notes that if the programming that was 
the subject of a petition listed herein aired without captions after 
the dismissal date of July 5, 2012, the video programming distributor 
that aired such programming may be in violation of the Commission's 
closed captioning rules from that date up until the time that a new 
petition is filed.
    If any petitioner listed in DA 12-1833 filed a new petition after 
July 6, 2012, such petition is considered pending as of the date it was 
received at the Commission. While a petition for exemption is pending, 
the video programming that is subject to the petition is exempt from 
the closed captioning requirements.


[[Page 72349]]


Federal Communications Commission.
Karen Peltz Strauss,
Deputy Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2012-29358 Filed 12-4-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P