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 PUBLIC  NOTICE  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12th  St.,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov 
 ftp.  fcc.  gov 
 DA  01-  325 
 February  7,  2001 
 MASS  MEDIA  BUREAU  ACTION 
 COMMENT  SOUGHT  ON  THE  WEATHER  CHANNEL  REQUEST  FOR  CLARIFICATION 
 OF  EMERGENCY  INFORMATION  RULES 


 On  December  20,  2000,  The  Weather  Channel  filed  a  letter  with  the  Commission  regarding  “Request  for 
 Clarification  Regarding  the  Aural  Tone  Requirements  of  the  Commission’s  Video  Description  Rules,  47 
 C.  F.  R.  §  79.  2(  b)(  1)(  iii).”  This  rule  states  that  “[  e]  mergency  information  that  is  provided  in  the  video 
 portion  of  programming  that  is  not  a  regularly  scheduled  newscast,  or  a  newscast  that  interrupts  regular 
 programming,  must  be  accompanied  by  an  aural  tone.”  The  Commission  has  explained  that,  if  a  broadcast 
 station  or  multichannel  video  programming  distributor  (MVPD)  provides  emergency  information  through  a 
 crawl  or  scroll,  it  must  accompany  that  information  with  an  aural  tone.  1 


 The  Weather  Channel  seeks  clarification  that  “it  is  in  compliance  with  the  aural  tone  requirement  in 
 79.  2(  b)(  1)(  iii)  of  the  rules  when  it  provides  an  aural  tone  prior  to  the  first  time  that  it  provides  a  particular 
 crawl  or  scroll  containing  emergency  information.”  The  Weather  Channel  thus  seeks  clarification  that  it 
 need  not  accompany  each  otherwise  identical  crawl  or  scroll  with  an  aural  tone.  In  the  alternative,  The 
 Weather  Channel  seeks  an  exemption  from  the  rules  because  it  asserts  that  accompanying  each  crawl  or 
 scroll  with  an  aural  tone  would  constitute  an  undue  burden. 


 The  Weather  Channel’s  filing  is  available  for  public  inspection  in  the  Federal  Communications  File  Room: 


 Federal  Communications  Commission 
 445  12  th  Street,  SW 
 Washington,  DC  20554. 


 The  filing  is  also  available  at  the  FCC  Consumer  Information  Bureau  Disability  Rights  Office  website, 
 http://  www.  fcc.  cib.  dro. 


 1  Implementation  of  Video  Description  of  Video  Programming,  MM  Docket  No.  99-  339,  Report  and  Order,  15 
 FCC  Rcd  15230,  15251  at  ¶  51(  2000),  on  recon.,  FCC  01-  7  (rel.  Jan.  18,  2001). 
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 Copies  of  the  filing  and  other  pleadings  are  also  available  for  purchase  from: 
 ITS  Inc. 
 1231  20  th  Street,  NW 
 Washington,  DC  20036 
 www.  itsdocs.  com 
 (202)  837-  3800 
 (202)  837-  3805  (fax) 
 (202)  484-  8831  (TTY) 


 This  document  is  available  to  individuals  with  disabilities  requiring  accessible  formats  (electronic  ASCII 
 text,  Braille,  large  print,  and  audiocassette)  by  contacting  Brian  Millin  at  (202)  418-  7426  (Voice),  (202) 
 418-  7365  (TTY),  or  by  sending  an  email  to  access@  fcc.  gov. 


 The  public  may  submit  comments  on  The  Weather  Channel’s  filing  on  or  before  February  27,  2001,  and 
 replies  to  those  comments  on  or  before  March  9,  2001.  Comments  and  replies  should  include  the  docket 
 number  MM  Docket  No.  99-  339. 


 Mass  Media  Bureau  Contact:  Eric  J.  Bash,  (202)  418-  1188 
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