[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 61 (Monday, March 31, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17911-17931]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06754]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 79

[CG Docket No. 05-231; FCC 14-12]


Closed Captioning of Video Programming; Telecommunications for 
the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; Petition for Rulemaking

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission adopts non-quantitative 
quality standards for the closed captioning of pre-recorded, live, and 
near-live programming to ensure that caption viewers have full access 
to television programming; establishes best practices for the provision 
of good quality captions; imposes new requirements on broadcasters 
using Electronic Newsroom Technique (ENT) based on a best practices 
proposal offered by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB); and 
takes various other actions to clarify and improve the Commission's 
closed captioning rules.

DATES: Effective April 30, 2014, except for 47 CFR 79.1(e)(11)(i) and 
(ii), which shall be effective June 30, 2014, and 47 CFR 79.1(c)(3), 
(e)(11)(iii), (iv) and (v), (j), and (k) of the Commission's rules, 
which contain new information collection requirements that have not 
been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The 
Commission will publish a separate document in the Federal Register 
announcing the effective date.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eliot Greenwald, Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Disability Rights Office, at (202) 418-
2235 or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Closed 
Captioning of Video Programming; Telecommunications for the Deaf and 
Hard of Hearing; Petition for Rulemaking Report and Order (Order), 
document FCC 14-12, adopted on February 20, 2014 and released on 
February 24, 2014, in CG Docket No. 05-231. In document FCC 14-12, the 
Commission also seeks comment in an accompanying Further Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM), which is summarized in a separate Federal 
Register Publication. The full text of document FCC 14-12 will be 
available for public inspection and copying via ECFS, and during 
regular business hours at the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals 
II, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. It also 
may be purchased from the Commission's duplicating contractor, Best 
Copy and Printing, Inc., Portals II, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-B402, 
Washington, DC 20554, telephone: (800) 378-3160, fax: (202) 488-5563, 
or Internet: www.bcpiweb.com.
    Document FCC 14-12 can also be downloaded in Word or Portable 
Document Format (PDF) at: http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/disability-rights-office-headlines. To request materials in accessible formats for 
people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio 
format), send an email to [email protected] or call the Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 
(TTY).

Final Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis

    Document FCC 14-12 contains new information collection 
requirements. The Commission, as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork burdens, will invite the general public to comment on 
the information collection requirements contained in document FCC 14-12 
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Public Law 
104-13, in a separate notice that will be published in the Federal 
Register.

Synopsis

    1. Closed captioning is a technology that provides visual access to 
the audio content of video programs by displaying this content as 
printed words on the television screen. In addition to displaying text 
of verbal dialogue, captions generally identify speakers, sound 
effects, music, and audience reaction. Because closed captioning is 
hidden as encoded data transmitted within the television signal, 
consumers can turn the captions on or off.
    2. In 1996, Congress added Sec.  713 to the Communications Act (the 
Act), directing the Commission to prescribe rules for the closed 
captioning of televised video programming. 47 U.S.C. 613. Section 
713(b) of the Act directs the Commission to prescribe regulations to 
ensure that ``video programming first published or exhibited after the 
effective date of such regulations is fully accessible through the 
provision of closed captions'' and that ``video programming providers 
or owners maximize the accessibility of video programming first 
published or exhibited prior to the effective date of such regulations 
through the provision of closed captions. . . .'' In 1997, the 
Commission adopted rules that now require captioning on all new English 
and Spanish language programming, both analog and digital, which is not 
specifically exempt from the Commission's rules. In addition, 75% of 
all nonexempt pre-rule English and Spanish language programming must be 
closed captioned. Closed Captioning and Video Description of Video 
Programming; Implementation of Section 305 of the Telecommunications 
Act of 1996, Video Programming Accessibility, MM Docket No. 95-176, 
Report and Order, (1997 Closed Captioning Report and Order); published 
at 62 FR 48487, September 16, 1997.
    3. On July 23, 2004, advocacy groups representing individuals who 
are deaf and hard of hearing (Petitioners or Consumer Groups) filed a 
joint petition for rulemaking (2004 Petition) seeking amendments to the 
Commission's captioning rules pertaining to matters of captioning 
quality, scope, and enforcement. On September 2, 2004, the Commission 
placed the 2004 Petition on public notice. Consumer and Governmental 
Affairs Bureau Reference

[[Page 17912]]

Information Center Petition for Rulemaking Filed, Public Notice, Report 
No. 2670, RM-11065, September 2, 2004. On July 21, 2005, the Commission 
released the 2005 Closed Captioning NPRM granting the 2004 Petition and 
initiating a proceeding to examine the Commission's closed captioning 
rules. Closed Captioning of Video Programming; Telecommunications for 
the Deaf, Inc., Petition for Rulemaking, CG Docket No. 05-231, Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking, (2005 Closed Captioning NPRM); published at 70 
FR 56150, November 25, 2005.
    4. On November 7, 2008, the Commission released the 2008 Closed 
Captioning Decision that responded in part to the 2004 Petition by 
amending the captioning complaint process to allow consumers to file 
complaints directly with the Commission and by specifying new timelines 
by which such complaints must be addressed. Closed Captioning and Video 
Programming, Closed Captioning Requirements for Digital Television 
Receivers, CG Docket No. 05-231, ET Docket No. 99-254, Declaratory 
Ruling, Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, (2008 Closed 
Captioning Decision); published at 74 FR 1594, January 13, 2009. The 
Commission also adopted rules requiring VPDs to make available contact 
information for the receipt and handling of immediate closed captioning 
concerns by consumers, and contact information for written closed 
captioning complaints. The Commission has since developed a database to 
collect VPD contact information, Closed Captioning of Video 
Programming, CG Docket No. 05-231, Order, (Captioning Contact Webform 
Order); published at 75 FR 7368, February 19, 2010, and issued public 
notices to inform VPDs of their obligation to file such contact 
information. In the 2008 Closed Captioning Decision, the Commission 
also clarified that all nonexempt digital programming must be captioned 
pursuant to the applicable benchmark for that type of programming. The 
Commission also sought comment on the extent to which the self-
implementing exemption in Sec.  79.1(d)(12) of the Commission's rules 
for video programming channels that produce annual gross revenues of 
less than $3 million during the previous calendar year should apply to 
digital broadcasters that multicast.
    5. On October 25, 2010, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs 
Bureau (CGB) issued a Public Notice seeking to refresh the record in 
this proceeding. Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Seeks to 
Refresh the Record on Notices of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Closed 
Captioning Rules, CG Docket No. 05-231, ET Docket No. 99-254, Public 
Notice, (2010 Refresh Public Notice); published at 75 FR 70168, 
November 17, 2010.
    7. Need for Standards. Although the record in this proceeding shows 
that some effective quality control mechanisms for captions have been 
put into place during this period, hundreds of commenters remain 
dissatisfied with captioning quality that they claim impairs the 
accessibility of television programming by viewers who are deaf and 
hard of hearing. Specifically, commenters report captions that are 
inaccurate, garbled, incomplete, misspelled and/or misunderstood, 
incomprehensible, obscure the speaker, or significantly lag behind the 
spoken words they are intended to convey. This confirms inconsistencies 
in the quality of closed captioning throughout the industry and 
supports the Consumer Groups' contention that the marketplace alone has 
not provided effective incentives for all providers to maintain good 
quality captioning.
    8. Accordingly, based on the instant record, the Commission 
identifies, in document FCC 14-12, quality standards that are necessary 
to achieve the Act's requirement for new video programming to be 
``fully accessible through the provision of closed captions,'' and for 
``video programming providers or owners [to] maximize the accessibility 
of video programming first published or exhibited prior to the 
effective date of such regulations through the provision of closed 
captions. . . .'' 47 U.S.C. 613(b). These standards will help ensure 
the uniform provision of good quality captions as intended by Congress 
and will provide a mechanism for addressing consumer complaints about 
captioning problems. The Commission expects that the quality standards 
the Commission now adopts will have little impact on the operations of 
entities that already have quality control systems that provide high 
quality captioning.
    9. Section 202 of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video 
Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA), Public Law 111-260, 124 Stat. 2751 
(October 8, 2010), technical amendments, Public Law 111-265, 124 Stat. 
2795 (October 8, 2010), requires the Commission to mandate closed 
captioning on video programming delivered using Internet protocol 
(``IP'') when such programming is shown on television with captions 
after the effective date of the Commission rules. In January 2012, the 
Commission adopted rules to implement section 202, requiring that 
captioning of IP-delivered programs be of at least the same quality as 
when such programs are shown on television. Closed Captioning of 
Internet Protocol-Delivered Video Programming: Implementation of the 
Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 
2010, MB Docket No. 11-154, Report and Order, (IP Captioning Report and 
Order); published at 77 FR 19480, March 30, 2012. The expanded 
availability of television programming on the Internet that will result 
from implementation of this section of the CVAA makes ensuring the 
quality of captioning on shows aired on television in the first 
instance all the more important.
    10. Accuracy, Synchronicity, Completeness and Placement. Document 
FCC 14-12 amends the Commission's rules, as described below, to require 
that captions (1) accurately reflect what is in the program's audio 
track by matching the dialogue, music, and sounds, and identify the 
speakers; (2) are delivered synchronously with the corresponding 
dialogue and other sounds at a speed that can be read by viewers; (3) 
are complete for the entire program; and (4) do not obscure important 
on-screen information and are not obscured by other information on the 
screen. Each of these four components is essential to ensure that video 
programming is fully accessible to people who are deaf and hard of 
hearing through the provision of closed captions.
    11. Accuracy. In order to be accurate, captions must match the 
spoken words in the dialogue, in their original language (English or 
Spanish), to the fullest extent possible and include full lyrics when 
provided on the audio track. To accurately convey the dialogue in a 
program, closed captions need to contain all words in the order spoken, 
without paraphrasing or substituting words for proper names and places, 
contain proper spelling (including appropriate homophones, such as 
``their,'' not ``there''), and provide, as needed to understand the 
program, appropriate punctuation and capitalization to reflect natural 
linguistic breaks and the flow of the dialogue, the proper tense, and 
the accurate representation of numbers (including currency figures with 
appropriate symbols or words). Paraphrasing generally should not be 
used where the entirety of the dialogue can be conveyed through 
captions. Nevertheless, in certain circumstances, paraphrasing may be 
necessary to ensure that the intended audience can capture the content 
of the program. For example, at times, paraphrasing may be needed if 
time does not permit providing verbatim captions, such as

[[Page 17913]]

when the time lag between when the dialogue occurs and the captions 
appear on live programming would prevent complete captioning of the 
program's audio content unless summarization occurs.
    12. Accurate captions do not rewrite dialogue, or use synonyms to 
replace actual dialogue. Where necessary to understand a program's 
content, accurate captions also convey the manner and tone of the 
speaker's voice. Similarly, where slang or grammatical errors are 
intentionally used in a program's dialogue, accuracy dictates that 
captions mirror such slang and errors. Accuracy also requires that 
utterances (e.g., ``um'') and false starts be captioned if needed for 
the viewer to understand the program. In addition, except as prohibited 
by 47 CFR 73.3999 of the Commission's rules, which restricts the 
broadcast of obscene and indecent material pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1464, 
in which case both aural and closed captioned programming must be 
treated equivalently, aural words and phrases that may appear 
objectionable to the program owner, provider or VPD or to the 
captioning agency when put in writing must nevertheless be captioned 
verbatim if made audible to the general public in a program's dialogue.
    13. In order to be accurate, captions must also provide nonverbal 
information that is not observable, such as who is speaking, the 
existence of music (even when there are no lyrics to be captioned), 
sound effects, and audience reaction, to the greatest extent possible, 
given the nature of the program. If there is more than one speaker, the 
proper placement of captions dictates that each speaker be identified, 
through caption identification or caption placement, so that viewers 
can understand who is speaking at any given time. When a speaker is not 
on the screen, identification of that individual in the caption text 
must also be provided if viewers not using captions are able, from the 
program's audio content, to discern the speaker's identity. Finally, in 
order to be considered accurate, captions must also be legible, with 
appropriate spacing between words to allow for readability.
    14. Synchronicity. In order to be synchronous, captions must 
coincide with their corresponding spoken words and sounds to the 
greatest extent possible, given the type of the programming. This means 
that captions should begin to appear at the time that the corresponding 
speech or sounds begin and end approximately when the speech or sounds 
end. In addition, synchronicity requires that captions be displayed on 
the screen at a speed that can be read by viewers. While the Commission 
recognizes that everyone reads at a different speed, captions should 
not blink on and off at a speed that is too quick to read or otherwise 
be paced at a speed that is difficult to read.
    15. Program Completeness. In order for a program's captions to be 
complete, captions must run from the beginning to the end of the 
program, to the fullest extent possible.
    16. Placement. To be appropriately placed, captions should not 
block other important visual content on the screen including, but not 
limited to, character faces, featured text (e.g., weather or other news 
updates, graphics and credits), and other information that is essential 
to understanding a program's content when the closed captioning feature 
is activated. Appropriate caption placement also dictates that the 
caption font be sized appropriately for legibility, and that captions 
be adequately positioned so they do not run off the edge of the video 
screen. Application of Standards to Types of Programming. For purposes 
of assessing compliance with respect to each of these components, the 
Commission will consider the type of programming at issue, i.e., pre-
recorded, live, or near live programming, and thereby take into 
account, among other things, the time available to review and edit 
captions on the particular type of programming prior to its 
distribution and display to viewers. Although, for purposes of 
addressing captioning complaints with respect to live and near-live 
programming, the Commission will take into consideration the lack of an 
opportunity to review and edit captions on these types of programming, 
captions must make all types of programming understandable to the 
fullest extent possible, so that viewers who rely on captions have a 
comparable viewing experience to those who can hear the audio portion 
of the programming.
    17. Pre-recorded programming. Pre-recorded programming is 
programming that is produced, recorded, and edited in advance of its 
first airing on television. Generally, captioning done for pre-recorded 
programming is referred to as offline captioning, which is the process 
of adding captions to a program after it has been produced, and 
combining these captions with the program before it airs. Because the 
period between the time that a captioning agency receives the program 
and the airing date is sufficient to allow the careful review and 
editing of captions to ensure accuracy, synchronicity, program 
completeness, and appropriate placement, captioning will be considered 
to comply with the Commission's captioning quality standards if it 
contains no other errors than those we consider de minimis. Rather than 
specifying particular criteria that it will apply for a de minimis 
determination, in determining whether a failure to comply with the 
captioning quality standards is de minimis, the Commission will 
consider the particular circumstances presented, including the type of 
failure, the reason for the failure, whether the failure was one-time 
or continuing, the degree to which the program was understandable 
despite the errors, and the time frame within which corrective action 
was taken to prevent such failures from reoccurring.
    18. Use of real-time captioning techniques for pre-recorded 
programming. Although offline captioning techniques are generally used 
for pre-recorded programming, at times programming providers use real-
time captioning techniques, which generate and add captions to their 
pre-recorded programming as it airs to the public. Although industry 
indicates that real-time captioning for pre-recorded programming is 
sometimes necessary, the record reflects that real-time captioning 
methods can result in a greater number of errors, greater omissions 
than captions carefully prepared and reviewed in advance, and greater 
lag time between when the words are spoken and captions appear, making 
it difficult to follow who is speaking during a program. The National 
Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) has proposed Best 
Practices that state that a programmer will ensure that pre-recorded 
programs generally are captioned offline before airing except when, 
``in the exercise of a programmer's commercially reasonable judgment,'' 
circumstances require real-time or live display techniques for pre-
recorded programming. Accordingly, the Commission expects that as a 
general matter, the use of real-time captioning methods for pre-
recorded programming will be limited to only those situations when it 
is necessary to do so. After the captioning quality standards have been 
in effect for one year, the Commission will review the extent to which 
the circumstances permitting the continued use of real-time captioning 
techniques for pre-recorded programming have been successful in 
improving captioning quality on this type of programming as part of an 
overall review of the Best Practices (discussed below). Depending on 
the outcome of this review, the Commission will consider additional

[[Page 17914]]

action to further limit the use of real-time techniques on pre-recorded 
programming, if necessary.
    19. Live Programming. Document FCC 14-12 defines live programming 
as video programming that is shown on television substantially 
simultaneously with its performance. Captioning for live programming, 
referred to as ``real-time'' captioning, is generated and combined with 
programming while it is being aired, and there is little or no 
opportunity to edit the captioning for accuracy, synchronicity, program 
completeness, and placement prior to airing.
    20. Accuracy. The Commission recognizes the greater hurdles 
involved with captioning live programming, given the simultaneous 
production of captions as the programming is aired, and the lack of 
time for the review and correction of captions. The Captioning Vendors 
Best Practices suggest a number of measures that VPDs can specify in 
their contracts with programmers to be taken to reduce errors and to 
produce more complete and timely captions, including providing 
captioners advance notice of vocabulary that the program is likely to 
use; ensuring that captioners are equipped with reliable, high speed 
Internet, multiple telephone lines and backup plans to minimize caption 
interruption due to malfunctions; providing captioning agencies with 
high quality audio program signals; and requiring appropriate captioner 
training and skills. The Commission encourages the continued use of 
these measures and other measures that are technically feasible, to 
provide live captions provide an accurate presentation of aural 
content.
    21. Nonetheless, the Commission recognizes that it may be 
impossible, using today's technologies, to always achieve fully 
accurate captioning on live programming. In considering complaints on 
captioning quality of live programming, the Commission will take into 
consideration the nature of this programming and the challenges 
associated with accurately captioning such programming. The overall 
objective is to ensure that closed captions convey a program's content 
so that the program is fully accessible to viewers. The Commission will 
address complaints by considering, on a case-by-case basis, the overall 
accuracy or understandability of the programming, the ability of the 
captions to convey the aural content of the program in a manner 
equivalent to the aural track, the extent to which the captioning 
errors prevented viewers from having access to the programming, and 
whether the VPD made best efforts to receive certification from 
programmers that the programmer is either in compliance with the 
Commission's non-technical quality standards or with the Best Practices 
adopted herein, or is exempt from the captioning obligations.
    22. Synchronicity. The Commission recognizes that a slight delay in 
the delivery of live captions is inevitable due to the time it takes 
for the captioner to hear the program, provide the captions, and have 
the captions transmitted to the viewer and will consider such technical 
limitations when reviewing consumer allegations of non-compliance 
regarding the lack of synchronicity between a live program's audio 
track and its captions. At the same time, in an effort to eliminate 
delays that prevent caption viewers from understanding a program's 
content, there are measures a programmer can take to keep the delay in 
their presentation of live captions to a minimum, consistent with an 
accurate presentation of what is said, so that the time between when 
words are spoken or sounds occur and captions appear does not interfere 
with the ability of viewers to follow the program. For example, VPDs 
can specify in their contracts with programmers that the programmers 
will provide captioners with advance materials that help them to 
generate caption text as they hear a program's audio, provide high 
quality audio program signals to reduce caption lag times, and enter 
into contracts with captioning agencies that require appropriate 
captioner training and skills to reduce captioning delays while a 
program is being aired.
    23. Program Completeness. The Commission recognizes that the delays 
inherent in sending caption transmissions on live programs to viewers 
pose particular challenges with respect to ensuring that the entire 
program is captioned up to its very last second. The preceding 
paragraphs have noted various measures that programmers and captioners 
can take to minimize the lag time between a program's audio content and 
its captions; shortening the lag time for real-time captions will help 
provide a more complete program. In addition, to the extent technically 
feasible, the Commission encourages entities that send the audio feed 
to the live captioner to alert the captioner that a program's end is 
imminent, so that the captioner can paraphrase or abbreviate the 
remaining text before the program cuts off. Finally, to the extent 
available, the Commission encourages use of the following measures to 
capture as much of a live program as possible through captions: (1) A 
fade out after the last scene to add a few seconds for the transition 
to the next program content, (2) advance delivery of the audio to 
captioners by a few seconds, and (3) allowing captions remaining at the 
end of a program's audio to be placed in a location on the screen 
during captions on that advertisement or program.
    24. Placement. Entities certifying to their compliance with the 
captioning quality standards will be considered to comply with the 
Commission's placement standards if they ensure the proper placement of 
captions on the screen to avoid obscuring on-screen information and 
graphics to the extent possible. However, the Commission recognizes 
that placement errors may be more frequent with certain types of live 
programming than with pre-recorded programming. The Commission will 
take into consideration the type and nature of the programming when 
considering complaints regarding violations of the placement standard.
    25. Near-Live Programming. The Commission defines near-live 
programming as video programming performed and recorded less than 24 
hours prior to the time it was first aired on television. The 
production schedules for near-live programming often do not afford an 
opportunity for reviewing and editing captions equivalent to offline 
captioning processes. Rather, because of the short turnaround time 
between taping and airing, programmers typically use real time-
captioning techniques for this type of programming. For purposes of the 
caption quality standards discussed above, the Commission will treat 
near-live programming as if it were live programming. The Commission 
agrees with Petitioners that editing and synchronization of captions on 
near-live programming should be performed during the hours between 
taping and airing to the extent there is sufficient time for such 
activities.
    26. Document FCC 14-12 also encourages the adoption of either of 
two industry practices to improve the quality of near-live programming. 
First, in advance of a program's airing, programmers may be able to 
deliver a complete program script or a near-completed program to a 
captioning agency, which the agency can then use to create a caption 
file that is later combined simultaneously with the program when it is 
aired. The process of synchronizing captions that were originally 
produced in real-time is known as ``live display,'' and it can serve to 
reduce errors and long lag times that can occur with real-time 
captioning. Alternatively, programmers may be able to provide a 
captioning

[[Page 17915]]

agency with access to a live feed of the taping of near-live 
programming, enabling a captioner to generate captions while the 
program is being taped. The captioner can then improve the captions for 
accuracy, synchronicity, program completeness and placement prior to 
its airing. During these intervening hours, the programming provider 
also could inform the captioning agency about any edits made to the 
show prior to airing.
    27. Program Re-feeds of Live and Near-Live Programming. Captioning 
vendors have submitted best practices proposals encouraging the use of 
offline captioning for live and near-live programs that initially have 
been captioned using real-time captioning techniques, but that are 
later re-aired on television. The Commission believes that such 
practice will more effectively match the program's audio content and 
thereby ensure the full television access through captioning. While 
offline captioning may not always be possible, the Commission 
encourages it and other steps to be taken that are necessary to achieve 
improved accuracy, synchronicity, completeness and placement of 
captions on such programs prior to their being re-aired. For example, 
to the extent feasible, the Commission encourages efforts to correct 
errors inadvertently made and timing lags that occurred when the 
program first aired with real-time captions.
    28. VPD Obligations. In the Closed Captioning Report and Order, the 
Commission chose to place exclusive responsibility for compliance with 
the closed captioning requirements on VPDs because they are ultimately 
responsible for ensuring the delivery of programming to consumers. 
Because VPDs are the entities that provide video programming directly 
to consumers' homes, keeping them in the chain of responsibility will 
provide consumers an entity to which they can address their complaints, 
and VPDs can assist in identifying other entities responsible for the 
captioning quality errors. Accordingly, document FCC 14-12 imposes 
obligations on VPDs to ensure compliance with the captioning quality 
standards.
    29. For the purposes of document FCC 14-12, all references to VPDs 
are as defined in Sec.  79.1 of the Commission's rules, unless 
otherwise noted. To avoid possible ambiguity, the Commission changes 
the heading for Sec.  79.1 of its rules to now read ``Closed captioning 
of televised programming.'' Section 79.1(a) of the Commission's rules 
defines VPD as (1) any television broadcast station licensed by the 
Commission; (2) any multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) 
as defined in Sec.  76.1000(e) of the Commission's rules; and (3) any 
other distributor of video programming for residential reception that 
delivers such programming directly to the home and is subject to the 
jurisdiction of the Commission. A different definition of VPD is used 
for purposes of programming distributed on the Internet under Sec.  
79.4 of the Commission's rules. 47 CFR 79.4(a)(3).
    30. In acknowledgment of the critical role that video programmers 
play in the delivery of captions, each VPD must exercise best efforts 
to obtain a certification from each of its video programmers, by 
requesting, in writing, that each programmer that supplies it with 
programming provide a certification attesting that the programmer 
either (1) complies with the captioning quality standards adopted 
herein; (2) adheres to the Best Practices for video programmers set 
forth below, or (3) is exempt from the closed captioning rules under 
one or more properly attained exemptions, in which case such 
certification must identify the specific exemption claimed. In 
addition, the VPD must request, in writing, that the programmer make 
such certification widely available within 30 days after receiving a 
written request from the VPD. VPDs will further have the obligation to 
check Web sites or other widely available locations used for the 
purpose of posting widely available certifications, to determine which 
of their programmers have certified their compliance. VPDs that locate 
a programmer's certification on the programmer's Web site or other 
widely available location used for the purpose of posting 
certifications as of the effective date of these rules will be deemed 
in compliance with this best efforts obligation even if the VPD did not 
previously notify such programmer, in writing, of the need for this 
certification directly to such programmer. VPDs that fail to exercise 
best efforts to obtain the certification noted above may be subject to 
enforcement action.
    31. If a video programmer does not provide the certification noted 
above, and if the VPD nevertheless carries the programmer's 
programming, it must report the non-certifying programmer to the 
Commission. The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau will issue a 
Public Notice announcing the proper procedure for submitting such 
reports to the Commission. The Commission will compile a list of such 
programmers that will become available in a public database maintained 
by the Commission. If a VPD uses its best efforts to obtain one of 
these certifications from each of its programmers, and it reports to 
the Commission the identity of any programmer whose programming the VPD 
carries who has refused to provide the requested certification, no 
sanctions will be imposed on the VPD as a result of any captioning 
violations that are outside the control of the VPD. MVPDs will not need 
to obtain the above certifications from broadcast television stations 
that are carried on the MVPDs' systems because broadcast television 
stations themselves are VPDs, and the Commission is exercising direct 
authority over all VPDs with regard to the captioning quality rules 
adopted herein.
    32. These requirements will become effective upon the latter of 
January 15, 2015 or a date announced in a public notice published in 
the Federal Register following approval by the Office of Management and 
Budget of the modified information collection requirements under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
    33. Best Practices. A number of parties to this proceeding, 
including VPDs, video programmers, captioning vendors, and consumers, 
have proposed Best Practices to ensure caption quality. Adherence to 
the Best Practices will provide the captioning industry with concrete 
steps it can take to achieve quality captions and ensure that caption 
quality problems that do arise are quickly resolved. One year after 
implementation of the rules adopted herein, the Commission will assess 
the extent to which its prediction about the effectiveness of these 
Best Practices has been accurate. If the Commission finds that this 
approach is not effective in ensuring the production and distribution 
of good quality captions, the Commission will revisit these rules to 
the extent necessary.
    34. Video Programmer Best Practices. To satisfy its obligation to 
exercise its best efforts to obtain certification from its programmers 
regarding closed caption quality, a VPD may seek certification from its 
video programmers that they will adhere to the following practices.
     Agreements with captioning services. Video programmers 
complying with the Best Practices will take the following actions to 
promote the provision of high quality television closed captions 
through new or renewed agreements with captioning vendors:
    [cir] Performance requirements. Include performance requirements 
designed to promote the creation of high quality closed captions for 
video programming substantially comparable to the

[[Page 17916]]

Captioning Vendors Best Practices set forth below. Some programmers may 
contract with captioning agencies that employ practices that vary 
somewhat from the Captioning Vendor Best Practices but nonetheless 
generate high quality closed captions for video programming. To provide 
the captioning industry with flexibility, compliance with these Best 
Practices will include compliance with performance requirements that 
are comparable to these practices. Such requirements should adhere to 
the basic tenets of the requirements set forth in document FCC 14-12, 
and will qualify only if they are designed to achieve captions that are 
accurate, synchronous, complete and appropriately placed, as required 
by these new standards.
    [cir] Verification. Include a means of verifying compliance with 
the above performance requirements such as through periodic spot checks 
of captioned programming.
    [cir] Training. Include provisions designed to ensure that 
captioning vendors' employees and contractors who provide caption 
services have received appropriate training and that there is oversight 
of individual captioners' performance.
     Operational best practices. Video programmers complying 
with the Best Practices will take the following actions to promote 
delivery of high quality television captions through improved 
operations:
    [cir] Preparation materials. To the extent available, provide 
captioning vendors with advance access to preparation materials such as 
show scripts, lists of proper names (people and places), and song 
lyrics used in the program, as well as to any dress rehearsal or 
rundown that is available and relevant.
    [cir] Quality audio. Make commercially reasonable efforts to 
provide captioning vendors with access to a high quality program audio 
signal to promote accurate transcription and minimize latency.
    [cir] Captioning for pre-recorded programming.
    [ssquf] The presumption is that pre-recorded programs, excluding 
programs that initially aired with real-time captions, will be 
captioned offline before air except when, in the exercise of a 
programmer's commercially reasonable judgment, circumstances require 
real-time or live display captioning. Examples of commercially 
reasonable exceptions may include instances when (1) a programmer's 
production is completed too close to initial air time be captioned 
offline or may require editorial changes up to air time (e.g., news 
content, reality shows, (2) a program is delivered late, (3) there are 
technical problems with the caption file, (4) last minute changes must 
be made to later network feeds (e.g., when shown in a later time zone) 
due to unforeseen circumstances, (5) there are proprietary or 
confidentiality considerations, or (6) video programming networks or 
channels with a high proportion of live or topical time-sensitive 
programming, but also some pre-recorded programs, use real-time 
captioning for all content (including pre-recorded programs) to allow 
for immediate captioning of events or breaking news stories that 
interrupt scheduled programming.
    [ssquf] Make reasonable efforts to employ live display captioning 
instead of real-time captioning for pre-recorded programs if the 
complete program can be delivered to the caption service provider in 
sufficient time prior to airing.
     Monitoring and remedial best practices. Video programmers 
complying with the Best Practices will take the following actions aimed 
at improving prompt identification and remediation of captioning errors 
as they occur:
    [cir] Pre-air monitoring of offline captions. As part of the 
overall pre-air quality control process for television programs, 
conduct periodic checks of offline captions on pre-recorded programs to 
determine the presence of captions.
    [cir] Real-time monitoring of captions. Monitor television program 
streams at point of origination (e.g., monitors located at the network 
master control point or electronic monitoring) to determine presence of 
captions.
    [cir] Programmer and captioning vendor contacts. Provide to 
captioning vendors appropriate staff contacts who can assist in 
resolving captioning issues. Make captioning vendor contact information 
readily available in master control or other centralized location, and 
contact captioning vendor promptly if there is a caption loss or 
obvious compromise of captions.
    [cir] Recording of captioning issues. Maintain a log of reported 
captioning issues, including date, time of day, program title, and 
description of the issue. Beginning one year after the effective date 
of the captioning quality standards, such log shall reflect reported 
captioning issues from the prior year.
    [cir] Troubleshooting protocol. Develop procedures for 
troubleshooting consumer captioning complaints within the distribution 
chain, including identifying relevant points of contact, and work to 
promptly resolve captioning issues, if possible.
    [cir] Accuracy spot checks. Within 30 days following notification 
of a pattern or trend of complaints from the Commission, conduct spot 
checks of television program captions to assess caption quality and 
address any ongoing concerns.
     Certification procedures for video programmers. Video 
programmers complying with the Best Practices will certify to video 
programming distributors that they comply with the quality captioning 
standards or adhere to Best Practices for video programmers and will 
make such certifications widely available to VPDs, for example, by 
posting on affiliate Web sites.
    35. Captioning Vendor Best Practices. As noted above, as part of 
their Best Practices, certifying video programmers must have agreements 
with captioning vendors that include performance requirements that are 
comparable to the Captioning Vendor Best Practices set forth below. 
These practices are intended to result in high quality captions and 
ensure that captioners have adequate training and oversight. The 
Commission defines ``captioning vendor'' (also sometimes referred to in 
document FCC 14-12 as a ``captioning service provider'') to mean any 
entity that is responsible for providing captioning services to a video 
programmer. Consistent with the Captioning Vendors' proposal, the 
Commission divides these Best Practices into three sets of practices--
first, for captioning vendors, second, for individual captioners who 
generate real-time captions, and third, for the generation of offline 
captioning.
    36. Best Practices for Real-time (Live) Captioning Vendors.
     Create and use metrics to assess accuracy, synchronicity, 
completeness, and placement of real-time captions;
     Establish minimum acceptable standards based upon those 
metrics while striving to regularly exceed those minimum standards;
     Perform frequent and regular evaluations and sample audits 
to ensure those standards are maintained;
     Consider ``accuracy'' of captions to be a measurement of 
the percentage of correct words out of total words in the program, 
calculated by subtracting number of errors from total number of words 
in the program, dividing that number by total number of words in the 
program and converting that number to a percentage. For example, 7,000 
total words in the program minus 70 errors equals 6,930 correct words 
captioned, divided by 7,000 total words in the program equals 0.99 or 
99% accuracy;

[[Page 17917]]

     Consider at a minimum mistranslated words, incorrect 
words, misspelled words, missing words, and incorrect punctuation that 
impedes comprehension, and misinformation as errors;
    [cir] Captions are written in a near-as-verbatim style as possible, 
minimizing paraphrasing;
    [cir] The intended message of the spoken dialogue is conveyed in 
the associated captions in a clear and comprehensive manner;
    [cir] Music lyrics should accompany artist performances;
     Consider synchronicity of captions to be a measurement of 
lag between the spoken word supplied by the program origination point 
and when captions are received at the same program origination point;
     Ensure placement of captions on screen to avoid obscuring 
on-screen information and graphics (e.g., sports coverage);
     Ensure proper screening, training, supervision, and 
evaluation of captioners by experienced and qualified real-time 
captioning experts;
     Ensure there is an infrastructure that provides technical 
and other support to video programmers and captioners at all times;
     Ensure that captioners are qualified for the type and 
difficulty level of the programs to which they are assigned;
     Utilize a system that verifies captioners are prepared and 
in position prior to a scheduled assignment;
     Ensure that technical systems are functional and allow for 
fastest possible delivery of caption data and that failover systems are 
in place to prevent service interruptions;
     Regularly review discrepancy reports in order to correct 
issues and avoid future issues;
     Respond in a timely manner to concerns raised by video 
programmers or viewers;
     Alert video programmers immediately if a technical issue 
needs to be addressed on their end;
     Inform video programmers of appropriate use of real-time 
captioning (i.e., for live and near-live programming, and not for pre-
recorded programming) and what is necessary to produce quality 
captions, including technical requirements and the need for preparatory 
materials;
     For better coordination for ensuring high quality captions 
and for addressing problems as they arise, understand the roles and 
responsibilities of other stakeholders in the closed-captioning 
process, including VPDs, video programmers, producers, equipment 
manufacturers, regulators, and viewers, and keep abreast of issues and 
developments in those sectors; and
     Ensure that all contracted captioners adhere to real-time 
captioner Best Practices.
    37. Best Practices for Real-Time (Live) Captioners.
     Caption as accurately, synchronously, completely, and 
appropriately placed as possible;
     Ensure they are equipped with a failover plan to minimize 
caption interruption due to captioner or equipment malfunction;
     Be equipped with reliable, high speed Internet;
     Be equipped with multiple telephone lines;
     Prepare as thoroughly as possible for each program;
     File thorough discrepancy reports with the captioning 
vendor in a timely manner;
     To the extent possible given the circumstances of the 
program, ensure that real-time captions are complete when the program 
ends;
     Engage the command that allows captions to pass at 
commercials and conclusion of broadcasts;
     Monitor captions to allow for immediate correction of 
errors and prevention of similar errors appearing or repeating in 
captions;
     Perform frequent and regular self-evaluations;
     Perform regular dictionary maintenance;
     Keep captioning equipment in good working order and update 
software and equipment as needed;
     Possess the technical skills to troubleshoot technical 
issues; and
     Keep abreast of current events and topics that they 
caption.
    38. Best Practices for Offline (Pre-recorded) Captioning Vendors 
and Captioners.
     Ensure offline captions are verbatim;
     Ensure offline captions are error-free;
     Ensure offline captions are punctuated correctly and in a 
manner that facilitates comprehension;
     Ensure offline captions are synchronized with the audio of 
the program;
     Ensure offline captions are displayed with enough time to 
be read completely and that they do not obscure the visual content;
     Ensure offline captioning is a complete textual 
representation of the audio, including speaker identification and non-
speech information;
     Create or designate a manual of style to be applied in an 
effort to achieve uniformity in presentation;
     Employ frequent and regular evaluations to ensure 
standards are maintained;
     Inform video programmers of appropriate uses of real-time 
and offline captioning, and strive to provide offline captioning for 
pre-recorded programming;
    [cir] Encourage use of offline captioning for live and near-live 
programming that originally aired on television and feeds at a later 
time;
    [cir] Encourage use of offline captioning for all original and 
library pre-recorded programming completed well in advance of its 
distribution on television; and
     For better coordination for ensuring high quality captions 
and for addressing problems as they arise, understand the roles and 
responsibilities of other stakeholders in the closed-captioning 
process, including VPDs, video programmers producers, equipment 
manufacturers, regulators, and viewers, and keep abreast of issues and 
developments in those sectors.
    39. In addition to following the Best Practices listed above, the 
Commission agrees that an ongoing dialogue among interested parties can 
help assess the industry's progress in implementing these practices and 
their impact on caption quality for television programs, as well as 
promote a better understanding of issues relevant to caption quality. 
The Commission supports commenters' proposal that trade associations 
sponsor an annual conference with VPDs, programmers, captioning 
vendors, representatives of the deaf and hard of hearing communities, 
the Commission, and other interested parties to review the state of 
caption quality on television, and to discuss developments in 
captioning technology and other issues of concern. The Commission also 
encourages industry and consumers to engage in frequent discussions so 
that the myriad of issues associated with captioning can be resolved to 
the mutual satisfaction of industry and consumers on an ongoing basis.
    40. Consumer Complaints. The Commission will rely on consumers to 
bring any potential noncompliance with its captioning quality standards 
to the Commission's attention. The Commission disagrees with NCTA's 
argument that informal complaints regarding caption quality should be 
treated as informational filings only, with no requirement for the 
covered entity to investigate or respond to complaints brought to a 
company's attention. Commission experience with closed captioning 
informal complaints filed pursuant to Sec.  79.1(g) of the

[[Page 17918]]

Commission's rules has been that they have been useful in bringing to 
its attention and to the attention of programming entities technical 
and other problems that these entities generally correct after 
investigating the problems raised in the informal complaints. However, 
CGB will forward informal complaints only if they contain the following 
information: (1) the channel number, channel name, call sign, or 
network; (2) the name of the MVPD, if applicable; (3) the date and time 
when the captioning problem occurred; (4) the name of the program with 
the captioning problem; and (5) a detailed description of the 
captioning problem, including specifics about the frequency and type of 
problem (e.g., garbling, captions cut off at certain times or on 
certain days, and accuracy problems). CGB will undertake efforts to 
work with consumers to obtain additional information, as needed, to 
ensure complete information on deficient complaints prior to forwarding 
these to VPDs in order to ease the burdens on both consumers and 
industry.
    41. Use of Electronic Newsroom Technique (ENT) for Live 
Programming. Background. Electronic Newsroom Technique (ENT) is a 
technique that can convert the dialogue included on a teleprompter 
script into captions. In the 1997 Closed Captioning Report and Order, 
the Commission allowed the use of ENT for the captioning of newscasts 
and other live programming--for purposes of meeting the captioning 
benchmarks--to permit flexibility in the methods used to create closed 
captions and to address the record's conflicting accounts at that time 
as to the number of available real-time captioners. On reconsideration, 
because of the inability of ENT to capture interviews, field reports, 
and late breaking weather and sports reports, the Commission narrowed 
the circumstances under which captions created with this technique 
would be permitted. Closed Captioning and Video Description of Video 
Programming; Implementation of Section 305 of the Telecommunications 
Act of 1996 Video Programming Accessibility, MM Docket No. 95-196, 
Order on Reconsideration, (1998 Closed Captioning Reconsideration 
Order); 63 FR 55959, October 20, 1998. The ENT rule now prohibits the 
four major national broadcast networks, their affiliates in the 25 
largest DMAs as defined by the Nielsen ratings, and national non-
broadcast networks serving at least 50 percent of all homes subscribing 
to multichannel video programming services from using ENT to caption 
live programming. 47 CFR 79.1(e)(3).
    42. The Commission remains concerned about the inability of ENT, as 
it is currently used, to provide full and equal access to news 
programming for all Americans, no matter where they live. However, 
while the costs for real-time captioning have dropped significantly and 
steps have been taken to increase the number of real-time captioners 
since the Commission's rules was adopted in the 1997 Closed Captioning 
Report and Order, the Commission recognizes that many stations continue 
to have significant concerns about their ability to provide local news 
if they are denied the opportunity to provide captions through ENT, and 
agrees that the public interest would not be served were television 
stations required to cut back on local news programming.
    43. In document 14-12, the Commission amends Sec.  79.1(e)(3) of 
its rules to describe the manner in which broadcast stations not 
subject to the prohibition on ENT will be deemed in compliance with the 
captioning rules if they continue to use ENT to provide captioning on 
their live programming. The record indicates that these enhanced ENT 
procedures, listed below, offer stations a means to continue using ENT, 
and a means to improve caption quality for consumers, without requiring 
all stations to assume the cost of real-time captioning of all news 
programming. The Commission anticipates that these procedures will 
ensure that most in-studio programming, such as weather, sports, news 
and entertainment, as well as breaking news and on-the-scene 
programming will be made more accessible to viewers who are deaf and 
hard of hearing.
    44. Effective Date. The Commission will make these requirements 
effective 90 days after publication in the Federal Register. To the 
extent it is not technically feasible for a particular station to 
comply with its new requirements by this time, the station may request 
additional time by seeking a limited waiver of the effective date, 
supported by an appropriate good cause showing. Any station may, in 
lieu of following the enhanced ENT procedures, provide real-time 
captioning on their live programming.
    45. ENT Best Practices. Accordingly, based on the proposals 
submitted by NAB, the Commission requires that to be deemed in 
compliance with the Commission rules requiring captioning of live 
programming, broadcast stations that are not subject to the current 
prohibition on ENT must adhere to the following procedures in the 
ordinary course of business if they continue to use ENT for live 
programming:
     In-studio produced programming will be scripted. These 
scripted elements will include in-studio news, sports, weather, and 
entertainment programming.
     For weather interstitials where there may be multiple 
segments within a news program, weather information explaining the 
visual information on the screen and conveying forecast information 
will be scripted, although the scripts may not precisely track the 
words used on air.
     Pre-produced programming will be scripted (to the extent 
technically feasible).
     If live interviews, live on-the scene and/or breaking news 
segments are not scripted, stations shall supplement them with crawls, 
textual information, or other means (to the extent technically 
feasible).
     These provisions do not relieve stations of their 
obligations to comply with requirements regarding the accessibility of 
programming providing emergency information under Sec.  79.2 of the 
Commission's rules. 47 CFR 79.2.
     Stations will provide training to all news staff on 
scripting for improving ENT.
     Stations will appoint an ``ENT Coordinator'' accountable 
for compliance.
    46. One-year ENT Report. Because the record is not fully developed 
on how the new ENT procedures will be applied by news programmers 
across the country, and the extent to which compliance with these 
procedures will fulfill the Act's requirement for full access to news 
programming, the Commission will reevaluate the effectiveness of these 
ENT enhancements in providing people who are deaf and hard of hearing 
with full access to television news programming one year after the 
effective date of the rules pertaining to ENT. To begin this process, 
no later than one year after the implementation of these ENT 
procedures, document FCC 14-12 requires broadcast stations that have 
relied on these procedures to prepare and submit to the Commission a 
report on their experiences with following these new measures, and the 
extent to which they have been successful in providing full and equal 
access to news programming. Such report shall be prepared in 
consultation with Consumer Groups and may be prepared by the NAB on 
behalf of the affected broadcasters. The Commission encourages, as 
recommended by Consumer Groups, that such report

[[Page 17919]]

include data to demonstrate the extent to which ENT captioning meets 
the principles of accuracy, completeness, synchronicity, and placement, 
the percentage and quantity of uncaptioned programming by stations 
using ENT, the impact of ENT usage on the ability of consumers who are 
deaf and hard of hearing to access programming, complaints filed about 
ENT, the state of the market for real-time captioners, the economic 
need for stations to continue using ENT in lieu of real-time 
captioning, and technological progress toward achieving improvements 
with ENT. Such data can assist the Commission in evaluating whether a 
further proceeding that may include the phase out of ENT for certain 
DMAs is necessary to ensure full access to televised news programming 
by people who are deaf and hard of hearing.
    47. Complaints. The Commission will entertain informal complaints 
of noncompliance with the Commission's closed captioning rules by those 
stations using the above procedures for ENT, but will forward a 
complaint to a station only if it contains the following relevant 
information, which the Commission deems necessary to effectively 
respond to such complaint: The television channel number, network and/
or call sign, the name of the subscription service, if relevant, the 
date and time of the alleged captioning problems, the name of the 
program with the alleged captioning problem, a detailed and specific 
description of the captioning problem, including the frequency and type 
of problem.
    48. Compliance Ladder. The Commission further adopts the following 
compliance ladder in the event that complaints gathered by the 
Commission indicate a pattern or trend of noncompliance with the new 
ENT rules.
     If the Commission notifies a broadcast station that the 
Commission has identified a pattern or trend of possible noncompliance 
by the station, the station shall respond to the Commission within 30 
days regarding such possible noncompliance, describing corrective 
measures taken, including those measures the station may have 
undertaken in response to informal complaints and inquiries from 
viewers.
     If, after the date for a broadcast station to respond to 
the above notification, the Commission subsequently notifies the 
broadcast station that there is further evidence indicating a pattern 
or trend of noncompliance, the broadcast station shall submit to the 
Commission, within 30 days of receiving such subsequent notification, 
an action plan describing specific measures it will take to bring the 
station's ENT performance into compliance with the Commission's 
regulations for ENT. Action plans could include, for example, training 
of station personnel, more prominent reminders of the need for 
accessibility, and, if appropriate, the use of improved equipment. In 
addition, the station shall be required to conduct spot checks of its 
ENT performance and report to the Commission on the results of such 
action plan and spot checks 180 days after submission of such action 
plan.
     If, after the date for submission of such report on the 
results of an action plan, the Commission finds continued evidence of a 
pattern or trend of noncompliance, the Commission will then consider, 
through its Enforcement Bureau, appropriate enforcement action 
including admonishments, forfeitures, and other corrective actions as 
necessary that may include a requirement to cease using ENT, and 
instead use real-time captioning for live programming.
    49. In determining whether to require a station to implement real-
time captioning, the Commission will take into consideration all 
relevant information regarding the nature of the problem and the 
station's efforts to correct the problem.
    50. Video Programming Distributor Technical Rules. Equipment 
Monitoring. Even when captions delivered to VPDs are complete, 
accurate, synchronous, and appropriately located on the screen in 
compliance with the Commission's captioning quality standards, there 
still remains the possibility that technical problems may prevent these 
captions from reaching viewers. In the 1997 Closed Captioning Report 
and Order, the Commission adopted a ``pass-through requirement'' for 
VPDs to ``ensure that captioned programming is always delivered to 
viewers complete and intact.'' The Commission stated that VPDs would 
``be responsible for any steps needed to monitor and maintain their 
equipment and signal transmissions to ensure that the captioning 
included with the video programming reaches consumers,'' and cautioned 
that VPDs were to ``take corrective measures necessary to ensure that 
the captioning is consistently included with the video programming 
delivered to viewers.'' The Commission further clarified that it is the 
``video programming distributor's responsibility . . . to ensure that 
the equipment used to transmit these channels to viewers is capable of 
passing the captioning through along with the programming [and] is in 
proper working order.''
    51. The record shows that technical problems, which can occur in 
the delivery of captions from the point of origination to the end user, 
have been preventing some viewers from being able to fully access video 
programming as required by the Act and the Commission's captioning 
rules. Each time the program stream is transcoded or manipulated the 
captions can become garbled or disappear, or otherwise have their 
quality impaired. The Commission finds that VPDs could eliminate most 
technical captioning glitches if they have mechanisms in place to 
monitor and check their engineering equipment and procedures. In 
addition, complaints would be reduced if these entities actively 
monitor and maintain their equipment to eliminate the occurrence of 
technical problems in the first instance, and to quickly and 
efficiently repair such problems that do occur.
    52. To ensure full technical compliance with the pass-through rule, 
the Commission reaffirms and codifies in its rules, its 1997 
requirements for VPDs to take ``any steps needed to monitor and 
maintain their equipment and signal transmissions as part of their 
obligation to ensure that the captioning included with video 
programming reaches consumers,'' and to take any corrective measures 
necessary to ensure that such equipment is in proper working order. The 
Commission also adopts a new rule requiring technical equipment checks 
to take place in a manner that is sufficient to ensure that captions 
are passed through to viewers intact. The Commission expects that VPDs 
that already perform equipment checks and maintain adequate records to 
ensure that captions are passed through to their viewers should not 
have to change their practices as a result of these new rules. Others 
who have failed to perform technical equipment checks or do not 
currently maintain records will have to revise their practices to 
comply with the obligation to monitor their equipment for its proper 
maintenance.
    53. As part of their pass-through requirement, the Commission 
reminds MVPDs that they must also ensure that the customer premises 
equipment (e.g., set-top boxes) that they provide to consumers transmit 
all captions pursuant to the standards adopted under the CVAA. 
Additionally, the Commission encourages MVPDs to provide their 
installers and other employees who interact with consumers with 
information necessary to help those consumers effectively access closed 
captions through their MVPD-installed devices.

[[Page 17920]]

    54. Reporting and Recordkeeping. At this time, the Commission 
declines to impose a requirement for VPDs to report on their compliance 
with the captioning rules. However, as explained below, document FCC 
14-12 adopts a requirement for VPDs to keep records of their activities 
related to the maintenance, monitoring and technical checks of their 
captioning equipment. The Commission believes that the new complaint 
process, which allows consumers to skip the step of first contacting a 
VPD about a complaint and allows the initial filing of such complaints 
with the Commission, has made it easier for consumers to bring to the 
Commission's attention alleged violations of the captioning 
requirements, and thus reduces the need for a reporting requirement. 
However, the Commission continues to believe that each VPD should be 
required to maintain sufficient data to respond to consumer complaints 
and provide the Commission with information needed to make a 
determination as to the VPD's compliance with the closed captioning 
requirements. Although such requirement already exists, document FCC 
14-12 now specifies that such data must include (though it need not be 
limited to) information about the VPD's efforts to monitor, maintain, 
and conduct technical checks of its captioning equipment and other 
related equipment to ensure the pass through of captions to viewers. 
The Commission further requires each VPD to retain such records and 
documentation for a period of at least two years, in order to 
effectively respond to a consumer complaint or Commission inquiry 
addressing compliance with the Commission's captioning rules. Because 
the statute of limitations to impose a penalty for captioning 
violations is one year for some VPDs, and additional time is needed to 
obtain the records once the proceeding has commenced, the Commission 
finds that this two-year document retention rule is reasonable. 
Finally, the Commission directs that VPDs be prepared to submit such 
data to the Commission upon request, if needed to resolve an 
enforcement proceeding. A VPD's efforts to dispute noncompliance 
alleged in a complaint or a Commission inquiry with conclusory or 
insufficiently supported assertions of compliance will not carry the 
VPD's burden of proof to show that it is in compliance with the 
Commission's rules. In the event that the Commission finds that these 
recordkeeping obligations are insufficient to achieve compliance with 
the closed captioning obligations, the Commission may revisit whether 
to impose reporting requirements.
    55. The recordkeeping requirements will become effective upon the 
latter of January 15, 2015 or a date announced in a public notice 
published in the Federal Register following approval by the Office of 
Management and Budget of the modified information collection 
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
    56. Treatment of Multicast Streams. Background. In 1997, the 
Commission adopted a closed captioning exemption for video programming 
channels that produced annual gross revenues of less than $3 million 
during the previous calendar year. At that time, the Commission 
specified that ``[a]nnual gross revenues shall be calculated for each 
channel individually based on revenues received in the preceding 
calendar year from all sources related to the programming on that 
channel.'' The Commission did not determine, however, what constituted 
a ``channel'' for purposes of satisfying this self-implementing 
exemption. In 1997, broadcasters used their spectrum allocation to 
provide analog programming on a single channel; with the advent of 
digital broadcasting, broadcasters may use their digital allotment to 
provide simultaneously several streams of programming on the same 6 MHz 
of spectrum. This is known as ``multicasting.'' In the 2008 Closed 
Captioning Decision, the Commission sought comment on whether, for 
purposes of the $3 million exemption, each programming stream on a 
multicast signal constitutes a separate channel for purposes of the 
captioning requirements, or whether the broadcaster's entire operations 
attributable to its digital allotment should be considered one channel 
for captioning purposes.
    57. The Commission concludes that, for purposes of Sec.  
79.1(d)(12) of the Commission's rules, each programming stream on a 
multicast broadcast signal will be considered separately for purposes 
of determining whether the $3 million annual gross revenue limit has 
been satisfied. The Commission agrees that applying Sec.  79.1(d)(12) 
of its rules to each multicast stream separately is consistent with our 
ruling in 1997, which calculated gross revenues for each channel 
individually, and in the way it is applied to MVPDs. Accordingly, the 
Commission amends Sec.  79.1(d)(12) of its rules to ensure application 
of the $3 million exemption to a channel or stream of programming when 
multiple streams of programming are offered by a broadcaster. The 
Commission reminds multicasting television broadcasters, however, that 
once the annual revenues for a multicasting stream reach $3 million, 
the captioning exemption will not apply to that stream and, at that 
point, all applicable captioning requirements will apply to that 
stream. The Commission will revisit the multicasting issue at a later 
time to determine whether the approach adopted in document FCC 14-12 is 
still needed to assure the viability of multicasting, as well as the 
extent to which any change of policy is needed to ensure the 
availability of closed captioning on multicast programming for people 
who are deaf and hard of hearing.
    58. Other Matters. Penalties for Violation of the Closed Captioning 
Rules. Petitioners have requested that the Commission use its existing 
forfeiture guidelines to establish a base forfeiture amount of $8,000 
for each captioning violation, with each hour of programming below the 
applicable benchmark counted as a separate violation. They also have 
asked the Commission to clarify that to the extent technical problems 
result in a portion of a program's captioning to be garbled or missing, 
such program not be counted toward the applicable captioning benchmark. 
In the 2005 Closed Captioning NPRM, the Commission sought comment on 
whether the Commission should establish specific per-violation 
forfeiture amounts for non-compliance with the captioning rules, and if 
so, what those amounts should be.
    59. The Commission declines to create sanctions or remedies for 
closed captioning enforcement proceedings that deviate from the 
Commission's flexible case-by-case approach governed by Sec.  1.80 of 
its rules. The Commission already has sufficient authority to issue 
appropriate penalties, and it will adjudicate complaints on the merits 
and employ the full range of sanctions and remedies available to the 
Commission under the Act. In order to encourage compliance with its 
rules, the Commission will consider a wide variety of factors to 
determine whether enforcement is warranted, such as history of 
monitoring and maintenance, complaints received from consumers, 
frequency of captioning errors, and impact of captioning errors on the 
viewers' understandability of the program. In addition, as provided in 
Sec.  79.1(g)(8) of the Commission's rules, a forfeiture penalty may be 
in addition to any other penalty that the Commission may impose.
    60. Electronic Filing of Exemption Requests Section 713(d)(3) of 
the Act permits video programming providers or

[[Page 17921]]

owners to petition the Commission for an exemption from the closed 
captioning requirements where it can be shown that such requirements 
would be ``economically burdensome.'' The Commission has required 
parties seeking such exemption to file their petitions in paper form. 
In the 2005 Closed Captioning NPRM, the Commission sought comment on 
whether to require or allow the electronic filing of exemption 
petitions, and asked about the impact electronic filing would have on 
entities filing such petitions and parties filing comments or 
oppositions to such petitions.
    61. In the 2011 Electronic Filing Report and Order, the Commission 
amended certain of its procedural rules to increase the efficiency of 
Commission decision-making and modernize Commission procedures in the 
digital age, including adoption of a requirement to use electronic 
filing whenever technically feasible. Document FCC 14-12 now amends 
Commission rules to require the electronic filing of individual closed 
captioning exemption requests in machine readable format, and further 
revises Commission rules to require that comments on and oppositions to 
such petitions also be filed electronically in machine readable format. 
Pursuant to Sec.  79.1(f)(7) of the Commission's rules, however, any 
comment on or opposition to the petition, and any reply, must also be 
served on the other party and must include a certification that the 
filing was served on the other party.
    62. Correction to 47 CFR 79.1(i)(3) of the Commission's rules. The 
email address in Sec.  79.1(i)(3) of the Commission's rules that is 
provided for VPDs to submit contact information for closed captioning 
concerns and complaints is inaccurate. The correct address is 
[email protected]. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
will be amended accordingly.

Declaratory Ruling

    63. Mixed Language Programming--Bilingual English-Spanish Language 
Programming. The Commission confirms that bilingual English-Spanish 
programs are subject to the same obligations with respect to the amount 
of required captioned programming as programming that is entirely in 
English or entirely in Spanish. (The Commission notes, however, that it 
would not consider a program to be bilingual if it has just a few lines 
of dialogue in the program's less predominant language.) Specifically, 
all new bilingual English-Spanish programming must be closed captioned, 
and 75 percent of pre-rule bilingual English-Spanish programming must 
be closed captioned in their respective languages at this time.
    64. Other Language Programming. Section 79.1(d)(3) of the 
Commission's rules exempts from the closed captioning requirements ``. 
. . programming for which the audio is in a language other than English 
or Spanish, except that scripted programming that can be captioned 
using the `electronic news room' technique is not exempt.'' The 
Commission confirms that programs that are in neither English nor 
Spanish but contain small amounts or ``snippets'' of English or Spanish 
words that account for only a small percentage of these programs, are 
also governed by Sec.  79.1(d)(3) of its rules and need not to be 
captioned. The Commission reminds programmers and distributors, 
however, that Sec.  79.1(d)(3) of its rules requires the use of ENT for 
closed captioning in instances where scripted programming would make 
this possible.
    65. Providing VPD Contact Information Where VPD Is Exempt from 
Certain Requirements. The Commission clarifies that Sec.  79.1(i) of 
its rules require all VPDs, even if they are exempt from certain closed 
captioning rules, to make contact information available to consumers 
and the Commission for the handling of immediate concerns and written 
complaints about closed captioning. Because all VPDs, including those 
that are exempt from certain captioning rules, are nevertheless 
required to provide captioning pursuant to the pass-through rule, all 
VPDs are subject to the obligation to receive and respond to 
complaints.
    66. Obligation to Caption ``On Demand'' Video Programming. The 
Commission confirms that all ``on demand'' programming not subject to 
an exemption must comply with the relevant captioning requirements for 
new and pre-rule programming. More specifically, to the extent that 
``on demand'' programming that airs today is ``new programming,'' it 
must be captioned unless it otherwise qualifies for an exemption under 
its rules. To the extent it is pre-rule programming, it must comply 
with the Commission's pre-rule 75 percent benchmark.
    67. Application of Closed Captioning Requirements to LPTV Stations. 
In the 1997 Closed Captioning Report and Order, the Commission declined 
to adopt a specific exemption for low power television (LPTV) stations, 
and included within the definition of VPD, ``[a]ny broadcast station 
licensed by the Commission.'' Because the 1997 Closed Captioning Report 
and Order makes clear the Commission's intent to require closed 
captioning of non-exempt programming on all television stations, 
including LPTV stations, the Commission reminds LPTV stations that they 
must comply with Part 79 of its rules.

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    68. Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analyses (IRFAs) were 
incorporated in the Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs) in the 2005 
Closed Captioning NPRM and the 2008 Closed Captioning Decision in this 
proceeding. 5 U.S.C. 603. The Commission sought written public comment 
on the proposals in the two NPRMs, including comment on the two IRFAs. 
The Commission received one comment on the IRFA incorporated in the 
2005 Closed Captioning NPRM, as discussed below. No comments were 
received on the IRFA incorporated in the 2008 Closed Captioning 
Decision. This Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) conforms to 
the RFA. This Report and Order makes certain modifications to the 
closed captioning rules after consideration of the comments and reply 
comments received in response 2005 Closed Captioning NPRM, the 2008 
Closed Captioning Decision, and the 2010 Refresh Public Notice.
    69. In document FCC 14-12, the Commission adopts rules governing 
non-technical quality standards for closed captioning; Best Practices 
for video programmers, captioning vendors and captioners designed to 
ensure high quality closed captioning; certifications that VPDs must 
obtain from video programmers attesting to video programmers' 
compliance with the captioning quality standards or video programmer 
Best Practices or that the video programmer is exempt from the closed 
captioning rules; enhanced requirements for the use of ENT and a 
compliance ladder process for broadcasters that follow these practices; 
VPD monitoring and maintenance of equipment and signal transmissions 
and technical equipment checks to ensure greater technical compliance; 
maintenance of records of such monitoring, maintenance, and technical 
equipment checks; applicability of the $3 million exemption to 
multicast program streams; and electronic filing of economically 
burdensome exemption requests. These modifications to the closed 
captioning rules will serve the public interest by improving the 
availability and quality of closed captioning and making it easier for 
the public to learn whether a petition for exemption from the closed 
captioning rules has been filed.
    70. The Commission notes that VPDs are the entities directly 
responsible for

[[Page 17922]]

compliance with closed captioning rules, and may air programming that 
is not captioned only if the programming is not subject to a captioning 
benchmark or is exempt from the rules pursuant to Sec.  79.1(d) or 
Sec.  79.1(f) of the Commission's rules. Even with regard to 
programming that is not produced by a VPD, the VPD is responsible for 
ensuring that the program owner has certified that it or its 
programming is exempt from the closed captioning rules. Although closed 
captioning companies play a vital role in the closed captioning regime, 
they are not the entities that are directly affected by the 
Commission's requirements that video programming be captioned, because 
they are not the entities ultimately responsible for compliance with 
the closed captioning rules. The IRFA included all multichannel video 
programming distributors (MVPDs) and broadcasters; these are the 
entities that are ultimately responsible for closed captioning. In 
addition to captioners, program owners and producers that are not the 
video programming distributors were also omitted from the IRFA, for the 
same reason--they are merely indirectly affected by the rules and are 
not ultimately responsible for compliance with the rules. However, in 
order to better inform the public about its actions and to create a 
more complete record, the Commission is including captioners and video 
programming producers in this FRFA.
    71. The RFA directs the Commission to provide a description of and, 
where feasible, an estimate of the number of small entities that will 
be affected by the rules. The RFA generally defines the term ``small 
entity'' as having the same meaning as the terms ``small business,'' 
``small organization,'' and ``small governmental jurisdiction.'' In 
addition, the term ``small business'' has the same meaning as the term 
``small business concern'' under the Small Business Act. A small 
business concern is one which: (1) Is independently owned and operated; 
(2) is not dominant in its field of operation; and (3) satisfies any 
additional criteria established by the SBA.
    72. Small Businesses, Small Organizations, and Small Governmental 
Jurisdictions. As of 2009, small businesses represented 99.9% of the 
27.5 million businesses in the United States, according to the SBA. 
Additionally, a ``small organization'' is generally ``any not-for-
profit enterprise which is independently owned and operated and is not 
dominant in its field.'' Nationwide, as of 2007, there were 
approximately 1,621,315 small organizations. Finally, the term ``small 
governmental jurisdiction'' is defined generally as ``governments of 
cities, counties, towns, townships, villages, school districts, or 
special districts, with a population of less than fifty thousand.'' 
Census Bureau data for 2007 indicate that there were 89,527 
governmental jurisdictions in the United States. The Commission 
estimates that, of this total, as many as 88,761 entities may qualify 
as ``small governmental jurisdictions.''
    73. Cable Television Distribution Services. These services have 
been included within the broad economic census category of Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers. The SBA has developed a small business 
size standard for this category, which is all such firms having 1,500 
or fewer employees. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau for 
the year 2007, there were 3,188 Wired Telecommunications Carrier firms 
that operated for the entire year in 2007. Of these, 3,144 operated 
with less than 1,000 employees, and 44 operated with 1,000 or more 
employees.
    74. Cable Companies and Systems. Under the Commission's rules, a 
``small cable company'' is one serving 400,000 or fewer subscribers, 
nationwide. 47 CFR 76.901(e) of the Commission's rules. Industry data 
shows that there are 1,100 cable companies. Of this total, all but 10 
incumbent cable companies are small. In addition, under the 
Commission's rules, a ``small system'' is a cable system serving 15,000 
or fewer subscribers. Current Commission records show 4,945 cable 
systems nationwide. Of this total, 4,380 cable systems have less than 
20,000 subscribers, and 565 systems have 20,000 subscribers or more.
    75. Cable System Operators (Telecom Act Standard). The 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, contains a size standard for 
small cable system operators, which is ``a cable operator that, 
directly or through an affiliate, serves in the aggregate fewer than 1 
percent of all subscribers in the United States and is not affiliated 
with any entity or entities whose gross annual revenues in the 
aggregate exceed $250,000,000.'' Based on available data, all but 10 
incumbent cable operators are small under this size standard.
    76. Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) Service. DBS service is a 
nationally distributed subscription service that delivers video and 
audio programming via satellite to a small parabolic ``dish'' antenna 
at the subscriber's location. Currently, only two entities, DIRECTV and 
DISH Network provide DBS service, and neither company is a small 
business.
    77. Wireless Cable Systems--Broadband Radio Service and Educational 
Broadband Service. Wireless cable systems use the Broadband Radio 
Service (BRS) and Educational Broadband Service (EBS) to transmit video 
programming to subscribers. In connection with the 1996 BRS auction, 
the Commission established a small business size standard as an entity 
that had annual average gross revenues of no more than $40 million in 
the previous three calendar years. Of the 67 auction winners, 61 met 
the definition of a small business, and of these 61 winners, 48 remain 
small business licensees. In addition, there are approximately 392 
incumbent BRS licensees that are considered small entities. 
Accordingly, there are currently approximately 440 BRS licensees that 
are defined as small businesses under either the SBA or the 
Commission's rules. In 2009, the Commission conducted Auction 86 for 
the sale of 78 BRS licenses, and established three categories of small 
businesses: (i) A bidder with attributed average annual gross revenues 
that exceed $15 million and do not exceed $40 million for the preceding 
three years is a small business; (ii) a bidder with attributed average 
annual gross revenues that exceed $3 million and do not exceed $15 
million for the preceding three years is a very small business; and 
(iii) a bidder with attributed average annual gross revenues that do 
not exceed $3 million for the preceding three years is an entrepreneur 
Of the 10 winning bidders, two bidders that claimed small business 
status won four licenses; one bidder that claimed very small business 
status won three licenses; and two bidders that claimed entrepreneur 
status won six licenses.
    78. In addition, the SBA's placement of Cable Television 
Distribution Services in the category of Wired Telecommunications 
Carriers is applicable to cable-based Educational Broadcasting 
Services. The SBA has developed a small business size standard for 
Wired Telecommunication Carriers, which is all such businesses having 
1,500 or fewer employees. According to Census Bureau data for 2007, 
there were 3,188 Wired Telecommunications Carrier firms that operated 
for the entire year in 2007. Of these, 3,144 operated with less than 
1,000 employees, and 44 operated with 1,000 or more employees. In 
addition to Census Bureau data, the Commission's internal records 
indicate that as of September 2012, there are 2,239 active EBS 
licenses. The Commission estimates that of these 2,239 licenses,

[[Page 17923]]

the majority are held by non-profit educational institutions and school 
districts, which are by statute defined as small businesses.
    79. Open Video Services. Because OVS operators provide subscription 
services, OVS falls within the SBA small business size standard 
covering cable services, which is Wired Telecommunications Carriers. 
The SBA has developed a small business size standard for this category, 
which is all such firms having 1,500 or fewer employees. According to 
U.S. Census data for 2007, there were 3,188 firms that in 2007 were 
Wired Telecommunications Carriers. Of these, 3,144 operated with less 
than 1,000 employees, and 44 operated with 1,000 or more employees. 
However, as to the latter 44 there is no data available that shows how 
many operated with more than 1,500 employees.
    80. Television Broadcasting. The SBA defines a television 
broadcasting station as a small business if such station has no more 
than $35.5 million in annual receipts. The Commission has estimated the 
number of licensed full power commercial television stations to be 
1,388. According to U.S. Census Bureau data for 2007, there were 2,076 
television broadcasting establishments in 2007. Of these, 1,515 
establishments had receipts under $10 million, and 561 had receipts of 
$10 million or more. The Commission notes, however, that, in assessing 
whether a business concern qualifies as small under the above 
definition, business control affiliations must be included. Because 
many of these stations may be held by large group owners, and the 
revenue figures on which the Commission's estimate is based does not 
include or aggregate revenues from control affiliates, its estimate 
likely overstates the number of small entities that might be affected 
by its action.
    81. The Commission has estimated the number of licensed 
noncommercial educational (NCE) full power television stations to be 
396. The Commission does not compile and otherwise does not have access 
to information on the revenue of NCE stations that would permit it to 
determine how many such stations would qualify as small entities. There 
are also 428 Class A television stations and 1,986 low power television 
stations (LPTV). Given the nature of these services, the Commission 
will presume that all Class A television and LPTV licensees qualify as 
small entities under the SBA definition.
    82. In addition, an element of the definition of ``small business'' 
is that the entity not be dominant in its field of operation. The 
Commission is unable at this time to define or quantify the criteria 
that would establish whether a specific television station is dominant 
in its field of operation. Accordingly, the estimate of small 
businesses to which rules may apply do not exclude any television 
station from the definition of a small business on this basis and is 
therefore over-inclusive to that extent. Also as noted, an additional 
element of the definition of ``small business'' is that the entity must 
be independently owned and operated. The Commission notes that it is 
difficult at times to assess these criteria in the context of media 
entities, and its estimates of small businesses to which they apply may 
be over-inclusive to this extent.
    83. Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs). Neither the 
Commission nor the SBA has developed a small business size standard 
specifically for ILECs. The appropriate size standard under SBA rules 
is for the category Wired Telecommunications Carriers. Under that size 
standard, such a business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees 
and ``is not dominant in its field of operation.'' The SBA's Office of 
Advocacy contends that, for RFA purposes, small ILECs are not dominant 
in their field of operation because any such dominance is not 
``national'' in scope. The Commission has therefore included small 
ILECs in this RFA analysis, although the Commission emphasizes that 
this RFA action has no effect on Commission analyses and determinations 
in other, non-RFA contexts.
    84. According to Census Bureau data for 2007, there were 3,188 
firms in this category that operated for the entire year. Of this 
total, 3,144 had employment of less than 1000 employees, and 44 firms 
had had employment of 1,000 or more. According to Commission data, 
1,307 carriers have reported that they are engaged in the provision of 
ILEC services. Of these 1,307 carriers, an estimated 1,006 have 1,500 
or fewer employees and 301 have more than 1,500 employees.
    85. Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs), Competitive Access 
Providers (CAPs), Shared-Tenant Service Providers, and Other Local 
Service Providers. Neither the Commission nor the SBA has developed a 
small business size standard specifically for these service providers. 
The appropriate size standard under SBA rules is for the category Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers. Under that size standard, such a business 
is small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees. According to Census Bureau 
data for 2007, there were 3,188 firms in this category that operated 
for the entire year. Of this total, 3,144 had employment of less than 
1000 employees, and 44 firms had had employment of 1,000 employees or 
more. According to Commission data, 1,442 carriers reported that they 
were engaged in the provision of either CLEC services or CAP services. 
Of these 1,442 carriers, an estimated 1,256 have 1,500 or fewer 
employees and 186 have more than 1,500 employees. In addition, 17 
carriers have reported that they are Shared-Tenant Service Providers, 
and all 17 are estimated to have 1,500 or fewer employees. Seventy-two 
carriers have reported that they are Other Local Service Providers, and 
of the 72, 70 have 1,500 or fewer employees and 2 have more than 1,500 
employees.
    86. Electric Power Distribution Companies. These entities can 
provide video services over power lines (BPL). The SBA has developed a 
small business size standard for this category, which is all such firms 
having 1,000 or fewer employees. Census Bureau data for 2007 show that 
there were 1,174 firms that operated for the entire year in this 
category. Of these firms, 50 had 1,000 employees or more, and 1,124 had 
fewer than 1,000 employees.
    87. Cable and Other Subscription Programming. These entities may be 
indirectly affected by the Commission's action. The size standard 
established by the SBA for this business category is that annual 
receipts of $35.5 million or less determine that a business is small. 
According to 2007 Census Bureau data there were 396 firms that were 
engaged in production of Cable and Other Subscription Programming. Of 
these, 349 had annual receipts below $25 million, 12 had annual 
receipts ranging from $25 million to $49,999,999, and 35 had annual 
receipts of $50 million or more.
    88. Motion Picture and Video Production. These entities may be 
indirectly affected by its action. The size standard established by the 
SBA for this business category is that annual receipts of $30 million 
or less determine that a business is small. According to 2007 Census 
Bureau data, there were 9,095 firms that were engaged in Motion Picture 
and Video Production. Of these, 8,995 had annual receipts of less than 
$25 million, 43 had annual receipts ranging from $25 million to 
$49,999,999, and 57 had annual receipts of $50 million or more.
    89. Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals. 
These entities may be directly or indirectly affected by the 
Commission's action. The SBA has deemed an Internet

[[Page 17924]]

publisher or Internet broadcaster or the provider of a web search 
portal on the Internet to be small if it has fewer than 500 employees. 
Census Bureau data for 2007 show that there were 2,705 such firms that 
operated that year. Of those 2,705 firms, 2,682 (approximately 99%) had 
fewer than 500 employees, and 23 had 500 or more employees.
    90. Closed Captioning Services. These entities may be directly or 
indirectly affected by the Commission's action. The SBA has developed 
two small business size standards that may be used for closed 
captioning services, which track the economic census categories, 
``Teleproduction and Other Postproduction Services'' and ``Court 
Reporting and Stenotype Services.''
    91. The relevant size standard for small businesses in 
Teleproduction and Other Postproduction Services is annual revenue of 
less than $29.5 million. Census Bureau data for 2007 indicate that 
there were 1,605 firms that operated in this category for the entire 
year. Of that number, 1,587 had annual receipts totaling less than $25 
million, 9 had annual receipts ranging from $25 million to $49,999,999, 
and 9 had annual receipts of $50 million or more.
    92. The size standard for small businesses in Court Reporting and 
Stenotype Services is annual revenue of less than $14 million. Census 
Bureau data for 2007 show that there were 2,706 firms that operated for 
the entire year. Of this total, 2,687 had annual receipts of under $10 
million, 11 firms had annual receipts of $10 million to $24,999,999, 
and 8 had annual receipts of $25 million or more.
    93. In document FCC 14-12, the Commission takes the following 
actions to improve the quality of closed captions:
    (1) Establishes non-technical captioning quality standards (e.g., 
accuracy, synchronicity, program completeness and placement) to improve 
the quality of closed captioning, but does not adopt any reporting 
requirements along these lines.
    (2) Adopts Best Practices for video programmers, captioning vendors 
and captioners.
    [cir] Video programmers that choose to follow the Best Practices 
must include certain provisions in their agreements with captioning 
vendors, including performance requirements comparable to the 
captioning vendor Best Practices adopted in document FCC 14-12; follow 
certain operational, monitoring, and remedial best practices; and make 
certifications to VPDs that they comply with the video programmer Best 
Practices widely available.
    [cir] Captioning vendors and captioners following the Best 
Practices or performance requirements comparable to the Best Practices 
must take actions to improve the quality of closed captions, including 
but not limited to actions regarding evaluation of captioning accuracy, 
captioner screening, training, and supervision, and technical systems 
and expertise.
    [cir] There are no reporting requirements associated with the Best 
Practices adopted in document FCC 14-12.
    (3) Requires VPDs to make best efforts obtain certifications from 
the video programmers from which they receive programming attesting 
that the video programmers (1) comply with the captioning quality 
standards, (2) adhere to the video programmer Best Practices, or (3) 
are exempt from the closed captioning rules under one or more properly 
attained and specified exemptions.
    [cir] VPDs are not required to report to the Commission regarding 
their efforts to obtain certifications from video programmers.
    [cir] However, if a video programmer does not provide either of the 
certifications noted above, the VPD must report the non-certifying 
programmer to the Commission.
    (4) Requires broadcasters that use ENT to follow certain practices 
in order to be deemed in compliance with the Commission's rules 
requiring captioning of live programming.
    (5) Adopts a compliance ladder that broadcasters following these 
ENT practices may use in the event of a Commission inquiry or 
investigation.
    [cir] The compliance ladder calls for broadcasters to respond to 
notifications of noncompliance within 30 days by describing corrective 
measures. If a pattern or trend of noncompliance continues, the 
compliance ladder calls for broadcasters to respond to a subsequent 
notification of noncompliance within 30 days by setting forth an action 
plan describing specific measures it will take to bring the station's 
ENT performance into compliance with the Commission's regulations 
regarding ENT. In addition, the station shall be required to conduct 
spot checks of its ENT performance and report to the Commission on the 
results of such action plan and spot checks 180 days after submission 
of such action plan. If, after the date for submission of such report 
on the results of an action plan, the pattern or trend of noncompliance 
continues, the Commission will then consider, through its Enforcement 
Bureau, appropriate enforcement action.
    (6) Requires broadcasters to create a report on their experiences 
using these ENT practices within one year of the implementation of 
these practices.
    [cir] Such report shall be prepared in consultation with Consumer 
Groups and may be prepared by the National Association of Broadcasters 
(NAB) on behalf of the affected broadcasters.
    (7) Specifies that each multicast program stream of a digital 
television station be considered separately for the purpose of the 
captioning exemption for channels producing revenues of less than $3 
million, but does not adopt any reporting requirements along these 
lines.
    (8) Requires VPDs to monitor and maintain their equipment and data 
streams and perform technical equipment checks to ensure greater 
technical compliance, and to maintain records of such monitoring, 
maintenance, and technical equipment checks for at least two years, but 
does not adopt any reporting requirements in this regard.
    (9) Requires that petitions for exemption from the closed 
captioning rules, as well as comments or oppositions to such petitions, 
be filed electronically rather than on paper.
    94. The RFA requires an agency to describe any significant, 
specifically small business, alternatives that it has considered in 
reaching its proposed approach, which may include the following four 
alternatives (among others): ``(1) The establishment of differing 
compliance or reporting requirements or timetables that take into 
account the resources available to small entities; (2) the 
clarification, consolidation, or simplification of compliance and 
reporting requirements under the rule for such small entities; (3) the 
use of performance rather than design standards; and (4) an exemption 
from coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, for such small 
entities.''
    95. In amending its closed captioning rules, the Commission 
believes that it has minimized the effect on small entities while 
making video programming more accessible to persons who are deaf and 
hard of hearing. These efforts are consistent with the Congressional 
goal of increasing the availability of captioned programming while 
preserving the diversity of available programming. Consistent with its 
conclusions in 1997, when the closed captioning rules were first 
adopted, the Commission has limited the exemptions to the closed 
captioning rules because it has determined that all VPDs are 
technically capable of delivering captioning.

[[Page 17925]]

    96. However, consistent with the RFA, several steps were taken to 
minimize the impact on small entities. The captioning quality standards 
adopted in the document FCC 14-12 are performance-orientated and avoid 
mandating the use of particular technologies. In addition, because the 
captioning quality standards are qualitative rather than quantitative, 
they afford the industry, including small entities, flexibility when 
complying and do not requiring monitoring of every program on every 
channel at all times. The captioning quality standards also take into 
consideration the extent to which compliance with the standards can be 
achieved for various types of programming, further enhancing the 
flexibility provided to the industry, including small entities, when 
complying with the standards. Moreover, the record in this proceeding 
shows that many entities already have undertaken practices to ensure 
caption quality, thereby minimizing any additional costs imposed by the 
new captioning quality standards.
    97. Additionally, although document FCC 14-12 places the obligation 
to ensure compliance with the captioning quality standards on VPDs, 
VPDs can do so by making best efforts to obtain certifications from the 
video programmers from which they receive programming attesting that 
the video programmer (1) complies with the captioning quality 
standards, (2) adheres to the video programmer Best Practices, or (3) 
is exempt from the closed captioning rules under one or more properly 
attained and specified exemptions. The certification approach adopted 
by Document FCC 14-12 imposes only a minimal burden on VPDs, including 
small entities. The Commission permits the use of widely available 
certifications for this purpose, to obviate the need for individual 
contractual certifications, thus greatly reducing the burden on VPDs. 
Use of widely available certifications generally reduces the burden on 
small VPDs, who will generally rely upon widely available 
certifications arranged by the larger VPDs for programming that is 
nationwide or regional. In addition, VPDs that located a programmer's 
certification on the programmer's Web site or other widely available 
location used for the purpose of posting certification will be deemed 
in compliance with the best efforts obligation even if the VPD did not 
supply prior notification of the need for this certification to such 
programmer. While the Order requires VPDs to report to the Commission 
those video programmers whose programming the VPD carries who do not 
provide the certification noted above, this requirement is less 
burdensome to VPDs than alternatives such as having VPDs bear the risk 
of substandard caption quality of programming from video programmers 
who refuse to provide the certification.
    98. The certification approach and Best Practices adopted by 
document FCC 14-12 may also impose additional compliance obligations on 
video programmers, including small entities, that elect to certify to 
compliance with either the standards or the Best Practices because they 
may be required to implement practices and incur some additional costs 
to ensure that the captioning they provide meets the Commission's 
caption quality standards or Best Practices. The Best Practices may 
also impose additional compliance obligations on captioning vendors and 
captioners, including small entities. Nevertheless, the Commission 
believes the overall burden on video programmers that choose to certify 
and on captioning vendors and captioners will be minimal for several 
reasons. First, the Best Practices are voluntary. Document FCC 14-12 
allows video programmers the choice between certifying to compliance 
with the caption quality standards or Best Practices. Video programmers 
that do not want to follow the video programmer Best Practices can 
instead certify that they comply with the captioning quality standards. 
Second, the Best Practices provide video programmers, captioning 
vendors, and captioners with flexibility in establishing performance 
requirements designed to promote the creation of high quality closed 
captions for video programming by requiring practices comparable, but 
not necessarily identical, to the captioning vendor Best Practices. 
Third, the overall cost burden on video programmers that choose to 
certify will be relatively minimal, as demonstrated by the record, 
which reflects that caption prices have ``fallen dramatically'' since 
the Commission first implemented its 1997 captioning rules. Fourth, as 
noted above, document FCC 14-12 permits video programmers to provide 
widely available certifications, rather than having to provide 
individual certifications to each requesting VPD, which will 
substantially minimize the burden on video programmers choosing to 
certify.
    99. Document FCC 14-12 declines to extend the prohibition on ENT to 
markets beyond the top 25. In declining to extend the prohibition on 
ENT, the Commission has considered the burden that real-time captioning 
would impose on broadcast stations in markets beyond the top 25, 
including small businesses. However, document FCC 14-12 does require 
broadcast stations that use ENT to follow certain Best Practices 
designed to improve the quality of captions created using ENT. The ENT 
Best Practices will impose minimal burdens on broadcasters because they 
are generally achievable without additional cost and, for those 
stations with older equipment, software upgrades necessary for 
compliance with the ENT Best Practices are available for relatively 
nominal cost. In addition, document FCC 14-12 adopts a compliance 
ladder for determining compliance with the ENT Best Practices, offering 
broadcast stations additional flexibility in complying with the 
Commission's ENT requirements. Document FCC 14-12 does require 
broadcast stations that rely on the ENT Best Practices to prepare and 
submit to the Commission, within one year after the effective date of 
the rules pertaining to ENT, a report on their experiences and the 
extent to which they have been successful in providing full and equal 
access to news programming. To minimize the burden on small entities, 
document FCC 14-12 specifies that the report may be prepared by the NAB 
jointly on behalf of the affected broadcasters.
    100. Document FCC 14-12 reduces the captioning requirements for 
television stations that multicast by extending the provision in Sec.  
79.1(d)(12) of the Commission's rules, which exempts video programming 
providers from closed captioning where the distributor's annual gross 
revenues from the channel did not exceed $3 million for the previous 
calendar year, to each programming stream of a multicast digital 
television channel. Document FCC 14-12 does not disturb the existing 
exemption in Sec.  79.1(d)(11) of the Commission's rules, which excuses 
a video programming provider from spending more than 2 percent of its 
annual gross revenues received from a channel on closed captioning. 
Sections 79.1(f), 79.1(d)(11) and 79.1(d)(12) of the Commission's rules 
are all intended to address the problems of small video programming 
providers that are not in a position to devote significant resources 
toward closed captioning by relieving small entities of any burdensome 
obligation to provide closed captioning. The Sec.  79.1(f) mechanism in 
particular allows the Commission to address the impact of these rules 
on individual entities and grant exemptions to the rules to accommodate 
individual circumstances.

[[Page 17926]]

    101. Document FCC 14-12 declines to adopt any requirements for VPDs 
to annually file reports or certifications with the Commission. By 
declining to adopt reporting requirements, the Commission has taken 
into consideration the burdens that reporting requirements would impose 
on VPDs, including small businesses.
    102. However, document FCC 14-12 does require VPDs to maintain 
records of equipment monitoring and maintenance and technical equipment 
checks. These recordkeeping requirements will impose minimal burdens on 
VPDs because it is likely that many covered entities already keep such 
records, and document FCC 14-12 does not mandate any specific format 
for keeping records, providing covered entities with flexibility to 
establish their own recordkeeping procedures. Furthermore, the 
monitoring, maintenance, and technical equipment checks adopted in the 
Order are performance-orientated and avoid mandating the use of 
particular technologies or processes.
    103. Document FCC 14-12 does modify the procedures for filing 
exemption petitions with the Commission pursuant to Sec.  79.1(f) of 
its rules by requiring that such petitions and responsive pleadings be 
filed electronically rather than on paper. This procedure will make it 
easier for VPDs to file such petitions and consumers to respond to such 
petitions. Moreover, in the event any VPD or consumer finds it 
burdensome to file electronically, such VPD or consumer may ask the 
Commission for authorization to file on paper at the time it makes the 
filing.
    104. Federal Rules Which Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict With, the 
Commission's Proposals--None.
    105. The Commission will send a copy of document FCC 14-12, 
including a copy of the Final Regulatory Flexibility Certification, to 
the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the SBA.

Congressional Review Act

    106. The Commission will send a copy of document FCC 14-12 in a 
report to be sent to Congress and the Governmental Accountability 
Office pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

Ordering Clauses

    Pursuant to the authority contained in sections 4(i), 303(r) and 
713 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 
303(r) and 613, document FCC 14-12 is adopted and the Commission's 
rules are amended.
    Document FCC 14-12 shall be effective April 30, 2014, pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553(d) and Sec.  1.427(a) of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 
1.427(a), unless otherwise noted.
    The final rules contained in 47 CFR 79.1(c)(3), (j), and (k) shall 
be effective upon publication in the Federal Register of a notice 
announcing the approval by the Office of Management and Budget of the 
modified information collection requirements under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 and an effective date of the rule amendment, and 
such effective date shall be no sooner than January 15, 2015.
    The final rules contained in 47 CFR 79.1(e)(11)(i) and (ii) shall 
be effective June 30, 2014.
    The final rules contained in 47 CFR 79.1(e)(11)(iii), (iv) and (v) 
shall be effective upon publication in the Federal Register of a notice 
announcing the approval by the Office of Management and Budget of the 
modified information collection requirements under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 and an effective date of the rule amendment.
    The Declaratory Ruling adopted herein became effective on February 
24, 2014.
    The Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, 
Reference Information Center, shall send a copy of document FCC 14-12, 
including the Final Regulatory Flexibility Certification, to the Chief 
Counsel for advocacy of the Small Business Administration.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 79

    Individuals with disabilities, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Telecommunications.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 79 as follows:

PART 79--CLOSED CAPTIONING AND VIDEO DESCRIPTION OF VIDEO 
PROGRAMMING

0
1. The authority citation for part 79 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 152(a), 154(i), 303, 307, 309, 310, 
330, 544a, 613, 617.


0
2. Amend Sec.  79.1 by revising the section heading and paragraphs (a), 
(c), (d)(12), (e)(3), and adding paragraph (e)(11), revising paragraphs 
(f)(4), (f)(7), and (i)(3), and adding paragraphs (j) and (k), to read 
as follows:


Sec.  79.1  Closed captioning of televised video programming.

    (a) Definitions. For purposes of this section the following 
definitions shall apply:
    (1) Captioning vendor. Any entity that is responsible for providing 
captioning services to a video programmer.
    (2) Closed captioning, or captioning. The visual display of the 
audio portion of video programming pursuant to the technical 
specifications set forth in this part.
    (3) Live programming. Video programming that is shown on television 
substantially simultaneously with its performance.
    (4) Near-live programming. Video programming that is performed and 
recorded less than 24 hours prior to the time it is first aired on 
television.
    (5) New programming. Video programming that is first published or 
exhibited on or after January 1, 1998.
    (i) Analog video programming that is first published or exhibited 
on or after January 1, 1998.
    (ii) Digital video programming that is first published or exhibited 
on or after July 1, 2002.
    (6) Non-exempt programming. Video programming that is not exempt 
under paragraph (d) of this section and, accordingly, is subject to 
closed captioning requirements set forth in this section.
    (7) Prerecorded programming. Video programming that is not ``live'' 
or ``near-live''.
    (8) Pre-rule programming. (i) Analog video programming that was 
first published or exhibited before January 1, 1998.
    (ii) Digital video programming that was first published or 
exhibited before July 1, 2002.
    (9) Video programmer. Any entity that provides video programming 
that is intended for distribution to residential households including, 
but not limited to, broadcast or nonbroadcast television networks and 
the owners of such programming.
    (10) Video programming. Programming provided by, or generally 
considered comparable to programming provided by, a television 
broadcast station that is distributed and exhibited for residential 
use. Video programming includes advertisements of more than five 
minutes in duration but does not include advertisements of five 
minutes' duration or less.
    (11) Video programming distributor. Any television broadcast 
station licensed by the Commission and any multichannel video 
programming distributor as defined in Sec.  76.1000(e) of this chapter, 
and any other distributor of

[[Page 17927]]

video programming for residential reception that delivers such 
programming directly to the home and is subject to the jurisdiction of 
the Commission. An entity contracting for program distribution over a 
video programming distributor that is itself exempt from captioning 
that programming pursuant to paragraph (e)(9) of this section shall 
itself be treated as a video programming distributor for purposes of 
this section To the extent such video programming is not otherwise 
exempt from captioning, the entity that contracts for its distribution 
shall be required to comply with the closed captioning requirements of 
this section.
    (12) Video programming provider. Any video programming distributor 
and any other entity that provides video programming that is intended 
for distribution to residential households including, but not limited 
to broadcast or nonbroadcast television network and the owners of such 
programming.
* * * * *
    (c) Obligation to pass through captions of already captioned 
programs; obligation to maintain equipment and monitor for captions. 
(1) All video programming distributors shall deliver all programming 
received from the video programming owner or other origination source 
containing closed captioning to receiving television households with 
the original closed captioning data intact in a format that can be 
recovered and displayed by decoders meeting the standards of this part 
unless such programming is recaptioned or the captions are reformatted 
by the programming distributor.
    (2) Video programming distributors shall take any steps needed to 
monitor and maintain their equipment and signal transmissions 
associated with the transmission and distribution of closed captioning 
to ensure that the captioning included with video programming reaches 
the consumer intact. In any enforcement proceeding involving equipment 
failure, the Commission will require video programming distributors to 
demonstrate that they have monitored their equipment and signal 
transmissions, have performed technical equipment checks, and have 
promptly undertaken repairs as needed to ensure that equipment is 
operational and in good working order.
    (3) Each video programming distributor shall maintain records of 
the video programming distributor's monitoring and maintenance 
activities, which shall include, without limitation, information about 
the video programming distributor's monitoring and maintenance of 
equipment and signal transmissions to ensure the pass through and 
delivery of closed captioning to viewers, and technical equipment 
checks and other activities to ensure that captioning equipment and 
other related equipment are maintained in good working order. Each 
video programming distributor shall maintain such records for a minimum 
of two years and shall submit such records to the Commission upon 
request.
    (d) * * *
    (12) Channels/Streams producing revenues of under $3,000,000. No 
video programming provider shall be required to expend any money to 
caption any channel or stream of video programming producing annual 
gross revenues of less than $3,000,000 during the previous calendar 
year other than the obligation to pass through video programming closed 
captioned when received pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section. For 
the purposes of this paragraph, each programming stream on a multicast 
digital television channel shall be considered separately for purposes 
of the $3,000,000 revenue limit.
* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (3) The major national broadcast television networks (i.e., ABC, 
CBS, Fox and NBC), affiliates of these networks in the top 25 
television markets as defined by Nielsen's Designated Market Areas 
(DMAs) and national nonbroadcast networks serving at least 50% of all 
homes subscribing to multichannel video programming services shall not 
count electronic newsroom captioned programming towards compliance with 
these rules. The live portions of noncommercial broadcasters' 
fundraising activities that use automated software to create a 
continuous captioned message will be considered captioned;
* * * * *
    (11) Use of ``Electronic Newsroom Technique'' (ENT). (i) A 
broadcast station that uses ENT to provide closed captioning for live 
programming or programming originally transmitted live and that is not 
subject to the current prohibition on the use of ENT in paragraph 
(e)(3) of this section shall be deemed in compliance with the 
Commission's rules requiring captioning of live programming or 
programming originally transmitted live if it adheres to the following 
procedures in the ordinary course of business:
    (A) In-studio produced news, sports, weather, and entertainment 
programming will be scripted.
    (B) For weather interstitials where there may be multiple segments 
within a news program, weather information explaining the visual 
information on the screen and conveying forecast information will be 
scripted, although the scripts may not precisely track the words used 
on air.
    (C) Pre-produced programming will be scripted (to the extent 
technically feasible).
    (D) If live interviews or live on-the scene or breaking news 
segments are not scripted, stations will supplement them with crawls, 
textual information, or other means (to the extent technically 
feasible).
    (E) The station will provide training to all news staff on 
scripting for improving ENT.
    (F) The station will appoint an ``ENT Coordinator'' accountable for 
compliance.
    (ii) Nothing in this paragraph (e)(11) shall relieve a broadcast 
station of its obligations under Sec.  79.2 of this chapter regarding 
the accessibility of programming providing emergency information.
    (iii) Informal complaints. The Commission will forward an informal 
complaint regarding captioning to a broadcast station that utilizes ENT 
to provide captioning pursuant to the procedures set forth in paragraph 
(e)(11)(i) of this section only if the informal complaint contains the 
television channel number, network, or call sign, the name of the 
subscription service, if relevant, the date and time of the captioning 
problems, the name of the affected program, and a detailed and specific 
description of the captioning problems, including the frequency and 
type of problem.
    (iv) Compliance. (A) Initial response to pattern or trend of 
noncompliance. If the Commission notifies a broadcast station that the 
Commission has identified a pattern or trend of possible noncompliance 
by the station with this paragraph (e)(11), the station shall respond 
to the Commission within 30 days regarding such possible noncompliance, 
describing corrective measures taken, including those measures the 
station may have undertaken in response to informal complaints and 
inquiries from viewers.
    (B) Corrective action plan. If, after the date for a broadcast 
station to respond to a notification under paragraph (e)(11)(iv)(A) of 
this section, the Commission subsequently notifies the broadcast 
station that there is further evidence indicating a pattern or trend of 
noncompliance with this paragraph (e)(11), the broadcast station shall 
submit to the Commission, within 30

[[Page 17928]]

days of receiving such subsequent notification, an action plan 
describing specific measures it will take to bring the station's ENT 
performance into compliance with this paragraph (e)(11). In addition, 
the station shall be required to conduct spot checks of its ENT 
performance and report to the Commission on the results of such action 
plan and spot checks 180 days after the submission of such action plan.
    (C) Continued evidence of a pattern or trend of noncompliance. If, 
after the date for submission of a report on the results of an action 
plan and spot checks pursuant to paragraph (e)(11)(iv)(B) of this 
section, the Commission finds continued evidence of a pattern or trend 
of noncompliance, additional enforcement actions may be taken, which 
may include admonishments, forfeitures, and other corrective actions, 
including, but not limited to, requiring the station to cease using ENT 
and to use real-time captioning for live programming.
    (v) Progress report. No later than one year after the effective 
date of this paragraph (e)(11), broadcast stations that adhere to the 
procedures set forth in paragraph (e)(11)(i) shall jointly prepare and 
submit to the Commission, in consultation with individuals who rely on 
captions to watch television and organizations representing such 
individuals, a report on their experiences with following such 
procedures, and the extent to which they have been successful in 
providing full and equal access to live programming.
    (f) * * *
    (4) A petition requesting an exemption based on the economically 
burdensome standard, and all subsequent pleadings, shall be filed 
electronically in accordance with Sec.  0.401(a)(1)(iii) of this 
chapter.
* * * * *
    (7) Comments or oppositions to the petition shall be filed 
electronically and served on the petitioner and shall include a 
certification that the petitioner was served with a copy. Replies to 
comments or oppositions shall be filed electronically and served on the 
commenting or opposing party and shall include a certification that the 
commenting or opposing party was served with a copy. Comments or 
oppositions and replies may be served upon a party, its attorney, or 
other duly constituted agent by delivering or mailing a copy to the 
last known address in accordance with Sec.  1.47 of this chapter or by 
sending a copy to the email address last provided by the party, its 
attorney, or other duly constituted agent.
* * * * *
    (i) * * *
    (3) Providing contact information to the Commission. Video 
programming distributors shall file the contact information described 
in this section with the Commission in one of the following ways: 
Through a web form located on the FCC Web site; with the Chief of the 
Disability Rights Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau; or 
by sending an email to [email protected]. Contact 
information shall be available to consumers on the FCC Web site or by 
telephone inquiry to the Commission's Consumer Center. Distributors 
shall notify the Commission each time there is a change in any of this 
required information within 10 business days.
    (j) Captioning quality obligation; standards. (1) A video 
programming distributor shall exercise best efforts to obtain a 
certification from each video programmer from which the distributor 
obtains programming stating:
    (i) That the video programmer's programming satisfies the caption 
quality standards of paragraph (j)(2) of this section;
    (ii) That in the ordinary course of business, the video programmer 
has adopted and follows the Best Practices set forth in paragraph 
(k)(1) of this section; or
    (iii) That the video programmer is exempt from the closed 
captioning rules under one or more properly attained exemptions. For 
programmers certifying exemption from the closed captioning rules, the 
video programming distributor must obtain a certification from the 
programmer that specifies the exact exemption that the programmer is 
claiming. Video programming distributors may satisfy their best efforts 
obligation by locating a programmer's certification on the programmer's 
Web site or other widely available locations used for the purpose of 
posting widely available certifications. If a video programming 
distributor is unable to locate such certification on the programmer's 
Web site or other widely available location used for the purpose of 
posting such certification, the video programming distributor must 
inform the video programmer in writing that it must make widely 
available such certification within 30 days after receiving the written 
request. If a video programmer does not make such certification widely 
available within 30 days after receiving a written request, the video 
programming distributor shall promptly submit a report to the 
Commission identifying such non-certifying video programmer for the 
purpose of being placed in a publicly available database. A video 
programming distributor that meets each of the requirements of this 
paragraph shall not be liable for violations of paragraphs (j)(2) and 
(3) of this section to the extent that any such violations are outside 
the control of the video programming distributor.
    (2) Captioning quality standards. Closed captioning shall convey 
the aural content of video programming in the original language (i.e. 
English or Spanish) to individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing to 
the same extent that the audio track conveys such content to 
individuals who are able to hear. Captioning shall be accurate, 
synchronous, complete, and appropriately placed as those terms are 
defined herein.
    (i) Accuracy. Captioning shall match the spoken words (or song 
lyrics when provided on the audio track) in their original language 
(English or Spanish), in the order spoken, without substituting words 
for proper names and places, and without paraphrasing, except to the 
extent that paraphrasing is necessary to resolve any time constraints. 
Captions shall contain proper spelling (including appropriate 
homophones), appropriate punctuation and capitalization, correct tense 
and use of singular or plural forms, and accurate representation of 
numbers with appropriate symbols or words. If slang or grammatical 
errors are intentionally used in a program's dialogue, they shall be 
mirrored in the captions. Captioning shall provide nonverbal 
information that is not observable, such as the identity of speakers, 
the existence of music (whether or not there are also lyrics to be 
captioned), sound effects, and audience reaction, to the greatest 
extent possible, given the nature of the program. Captions shall be 
legible, with appropriate spacing between words for readability.
    (ii) Synchronicity. Captioning shall coincide with the 
corresponding spoken words and sounds to the greatest extent possible, 
given the type of the programming. Captions shall begin to appear at 
the time that the corresponding speech or sounds begin and end 
approximately when the speech or sounds end. Captions shall be 
displayed on the screen at a speed that permits them to be read by 
viewers.
    (iii) Completeness. Captioning shall run from the beginning to the 
end of the program, to the fullest extent possible.
    (iv) Placement. Captioning shall be viewable and shall not block 
other important visual content on the screen,

[[Page 17929]]

including, but not limited to, character faces, featured text (e.g., 
weather or other news updates, graphics and credits), and other 
information that is essential to understanding a program's content when 
the closed captioning feature is activated. Caption font shall be sized 
appropriately for legibility. Lines of caption shall not overlap one 
another and captions shall be adequately positioned so that they do not 
run off the edge of the video screen.
    (3) Application of captioning quality standards. Captioning shall 
meet the standards of paragraph (j)(2) of this section for accuracy, 
synchronicity, completeness and placement, except for de minimis 
captioning errors. In determining whether a captioning error is de 
minimis, the Commission will consider the particular circumstances 
presented, including the type of failure, the reason for the failure, 
whether the failure was one-time or continuing, the degree to which the 
program was understandable despite the errors, and the time frame 
within which corrective action was taken to prevent such failures from 
recurring. When applying such standards to live and near-live 
programming, the Commission will also take into account, on a case-by-
case basis, the following factors:
    (i) Accuracy. The overall accuracy or understandability of the 
programming, the ability of the captions to convey the aural content of 
the program in a manner equivalent to the aural track, and the extent 
to which the captioning errors prevented viewers from having access to 
the programming.
    (ii) Synchronicity. The extent to which measures have been taken, 
to the extent technically feasible, to keep any delay in the 
presentation of captions to a minimum, consistent with an accurate 
presentation of what is being said, so that the time between when words 
are spoken or sounds occur and captions appear does not interfere with 
the ability of viewers to follow the program.
    (iii) Completeness. The delays inherent in sending captioning 
transmissions on live programs, and whether steps have been taken, to 
the extent technically feasible, to minimize the lag between the time a 
program's audio is heard and the time that captions appear, so that 
captions are not cut off when the program transitions to a commercial 
or a subsequent program.
    (iv) Placement. The type and nature of the programming and its 
susceptibility to unintentional blocking by captions.
    (4) Complaints. The Commission will forward an informal complaint 
regarding captioning quality to a video programming distributor only if 
the informal complaint contains the channel number, channel name, 
network, or call sign; the name of the multichannel video program 
distributor, if applicable; the date and time when the captioning 
problem occurred; the name of the program with the captioning problem; 
and a detailed description of the captioning problem, including 
specifics about the frequency and type of problem (e.g., garbling, 
captions cut off at certain times or on certain days, and accuracy 
problems).
    (k) Captioning Best Practices. (1) Video Programmer Best Practices. 
Video programmers adopting Best Practices will adhere to the following 
practices.
    (i) Agreements with captioning services. Video programmers adopting 
Best Practices will take the following actions to promote the provision 
of high quality television closed captions through new or renewed 
agreements with captioning vendors.
    (A) Performance requirements. Include performance requirements 
designed to promote the creation of high quality closed captions for 
video programming, comparable to those described in paragraphs (k)(2), 
(k)(3) and (k)(4) of this section.
    (B) Verification. Include a means of verifying compliance with such 
performance requirements, such as through periodic spot checks of 
captioned programming.
    (C) Training. Include provisions designed to ensure that captioning 
vendors' employees and contractors who provide caption services have 
received appropriate training and that there is oversight of individual 
captioners' performance.
    (ii) Operational Best Practices. Video programmers adopting Best 
Practices will take the following actions to promote delivery of high 
quality television captions through improved operations.
    (A) Preparation materials. To the extent available, provide 
captioning vendors with advance access to preparation materials such as 
show scripts, lists of proper names (people and places), and song 
lyrics used in the program, as well as to any dress rehearsal or 
rundown that is available and relevant.
    (B) Quality audio. Make commercially reasonable efforts to provide 
captioning vendors with access to a high quality program audio signal 
to promote accurate transcription and minimize latency.
    (C) Captioning for prerecorded programming. (1) The presumption is 
that pre-recorded programs, excluding programs that initially aired 
with real-time captions, will be captioned offline before air except 
when, in the exercise of a programmer's commercially reasonable 
judgment, circumstances require real-time or live display captioning. 
Examples of commercially reasonable exceptions may include instances 
when:
    (i) A programmer's production is completed too close to initial air 
time be captioned offline or may require editorial changes up to air 
time (e.g., news content, reality shows),
    (ii) A program is delivered late,
    (iii) There are technical problems with the caption file,
    (iv) Last minute changes must be made to later network feeds (e.g., 
when shown in a later time zone) due to unforeseen circumstances,
    (v) There are proprietary or confidentiality considerations, or
    (vi) Video programming networks or channels with a high proportion 
of live or topical time-sensitive programming, but also some pre-
recorded programs, use real-time captioning for all content (including 
pre-recorded programs) to allow for immediate captioning of events or 
breaking news stories that interrupt scheduled programming.
    (2) The video programmer will make reasonable efforts to employ 
live display captioning instead of real-time captioning for prerecorded 
programs if the complete program can be delivered to the caption 
service provider in sufficient time prior to airing.
    (iii) Monitoring and Remedial Best Practices. Video programmers 
adopting Best Practices will take the following actions aimed at 
improving prompt identification and remediation of captioning errors 
when they occur.
    (A) Pre-air monitoring of offline captions. As part of the overall 
pre-air quality control process for television programs, conduct 
periodic checks of offline captions on prerecorded programs to 
determine the presence of captions.
    (B) Real-time monitoring of captions. Monitor television program 
streams at point of origination (e.g., monitors located at the network 
master control point or electronic monitoring) to determine presence of 
captions.
    (C) Programmer and captioning vendor contacts. Provide to 
captioning vendors appropriate staff contacts who can assist in 
resolving captioning issues. Make captioning vendor contact information 
readily available in master control or other centralized location, and 
contact captioning vendor promptly if there is a caption loss or 
obvious compromise of captions.
    (D) Recording of captioning issues. Maintain a log of reported 
captioning issues, including date, time of day, program title, and 
description of the

[[Page 17930]]

issue. Beginning one year after the effective date of the captioning 
quality standards, such log should reflect reported captioning issues 
from the prior year.
    (E) Troubleshooting protocol. Develop procedures for 
troubleshooting consumer captioning complaints within the distribution 
chain, including identifying relevant points of contact, and work to 
promptly resolve captioning issues, if possible.
    (F) Accuracy spot checks. Within 30 days following notification of 
a pattern or trend of complaints from the Commission, conduct spot 
checks of television program captions to assess caption quality and 
address any ongoing concerns.
    (iv) Certification procedures for video programmers. Video 
programmers adopting Best Practices will certify to video programming 
distributors that they adhere to Best Practices for video programmers 
and will make such certifications widely available to video programming 
distributors, for example, by posting on affiliate Web sites.
    (2) Real-Time (Live) Captioning Vendors Best Practices. (i) Create 
and use metrics to assess accuracy, synchronicity, completeness, and 
placement of real-time captions.
    (ii) Establish minimum acceptable standards based upon those 
metrics while striving to regularly exceed those minimum standards.
    (iii) Perform frequent and regular evaluations and sample audits to 
ensure those standards are maintained.
    (iv) Consider ``accuracy'' of captions to be a measurement of the 
percentage of correct words out of total words in the program, 
calculated by subtracting number of errors from total number of words 
in the program, dividing that number by total number of words in the 
program and converting that number to a percentage. For example, 7,000 
total words in the program minus 70 errors equals 6,930 correct words 
captioned, divided by 7,000 total words in the program equals 0.99 or 
99% accuracy.
    (v) Consider, at a minimum, mistranslated words, incorrect words, 
misspelled words, missing words, and incorrect punctuation that impedes 
comprehension and misinformation as errors.
    (A) Captions are written in a near-as-verbatim style as possible, 
minimizing paraphrasing.
    (B) The intended message of the spoken dialogue is conveyed in the 
associated captions in a clear and comprehensive manner.
    (C) Music lyrics should accompany artist performances.
    (vi) Consider synchronicity of captions to be a measurement of lag 
between the spoken word supplied by the program origination point and 
when captions are received at the same program origination point.
    (vii) Ensure placement of captions on screen to avoid obscuring on-
screen information and graphics (e.g., sports coverage).
    (viii) Ensure proper screening, training, supervision, and 
evaluation of captioners by experienced and qualified real-time 
captioning experts.
    (ix) Ensure there is an infrastructure that provides technical and 
other support to video programmers and captioners at all times.
    (x) Ensure that captioners are qualified for the type and 
difficulty level of the programs to which they are assigned.
    (xi) Utilize a system that verifies captioners are prepared and in 
position prior to a scheduled assignment.
    (xii) Ensure that technical systems are functional and allow for 
fastest possible delivery of caption data and that failover systems are 
in place to prevent service interruptions.
    (xiii) Regularly review discrepancy reports in order to correct 
issues and avoid future issues.
    (xiv) Respond in a timely manner to concerns raised by video 
programmers or viewers.
    (xv) Alert video programmers immediately if a technical issue needs 
to be addressed on their end.
    (xvi) Inform video programmers of appropriate use of real-time 
captioning (i.e., for live and near-live programming, and not for 
prerecorded programming) and what is necessary to produce quality 
captions, including technical requirements and the need for preparatory 
materials.
    (xvii) For better coordination for ensuring high quality captions 
and for addressing problems as they arise, understand the roles and 
responsibilities of other stakeholders in the closed-captioning 
process, including broadcasters, producers, equipment manufacturers, 
regulators, and viewers, and keep abreast of issues and developments in 
those sectors.
    (xviii) Ensure that all contracted captioners adhere to the Real-
Time Captioners Best Practices contained in paragraph (k)(4) of this 
section.
    (3) Real-Time Captioners Best Practices. (i) Caption as accurately, 
synchronously, completely, and appropriately placed as possible, given 
the nature of the programming.
    (ii) Ensure they are equipped with a failover plan to minimize 
caption interruption due to captioner or equipment malfunction.
    (iii) Be equipped with reliable, high speed Internet.
    (iv) Be equipped with multiple telephone lines.
    (v) Prepare as thoroughly as possible for each program.
    (vi) File thorough discrepancy reports with the captioning vendor 
in a timely manner.
    (vii) To the extent possible given the circumstances of the 
program, ensure that real-time captions are complete when the program 
ends.
    (viii) Engage the command that allows captions to pass at 
commercials and conclusion of broadcasts.
    (ix) Monitor captions to allow for immediate correction of errors 
and prevention of similar errors appearing or repeating in captions.
    (x) Perform frequent and regular self-evaluations.
    (xi) Perform regular dictionary maintenance.
    (xii) Keep captioning equipment in good working order and update 
software and equipment as needed.
    (xiii) Possess the technical skills to troubleshoot technical 
issues.
    (xiv) Keep abreast of current events and topics that they caption.
    (4) Offline (Prerecorded) Captioning Vendors Best Practices. (i) 
Ensure offline captions are verbatim.
    (ii) Ensure offline captions are error-free.
    (iii) Ensure offline captions are punctuated correctly and in a 
manner that facilitates comprehension.
    (iv) Ensure offline captions are synchronized with the audio of the 
program.
    (v) Ensure offline captions are displayed with enough time to be 
read completely and that they do not obscure the visual content.
    (vii) Ensure offline captioning is a complete textual 
representation of the audio, including speaker identification and non-
speech information.
    (viii) Create or designate a manual of style to be applied in an 
effort to achieve uniformity in presentation.
    (ix) Employ frequent and regular evaluations to ensure standards 
are maintained.
    (x) Inform video programmers of appropriate uses of real-time and 
offline captioning and strive to provide offline captioning for 
prerecorded programming.
    (A) Encourage use of offline captioning for live and near-live 
programming that originally aired on television and re-feeds at a later 
time.
    (B) Encourage use of offline captioning for all original and 
library

[[Page 17931]]

prerecorded programming completed well in advance of its distribution 
on television.
    (xi) For better coordination for ensuring high quality captions and 
for addressing problems as they arise, understand the roles and 
responsibilities of other stakeholders in the closed-captioning 
process, including video program distributors, video programmers, 
producers, equipment manufacturers, regulators, and viewers, and keep 
abreast of issues and developments in those sectors.

[FR Doc. 2014-06754 Filed 3-28-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P