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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  04-  1819 
 Before  the  Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 


 In  the  Matter  of  : 
 Yellow  House  Entertainment 
 Video  Programming  Accessibility 
 Petition  for  Waiver  of  Closed  Captioning  Requirements 


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 CSR  5957 


 MEMORANDUM  OPINION  AND  ORDER 
 Adopted:  June  21,  2004  Released:  June  24,  2004 
 By  the  Deputy  Chief,  Policy  Division,  Media  Bureau: 
 I.  INTRODUCTION 
 1.  In  this  Order,  we  address  a  petition  for  exemption  from  Section  79.1  of  the  Commission’s  rules,  1  implementing  Section  713  of  the  Communications  Act  of  1934,  as  amended  (the  “Act”),  2  filed  by 


 Yellow  House  Entertainment  (“  Yellow  House”)  producer  of  the  television  program  Midwest  Bass  Fishin’  &  Huntin’  Adventures  aired  on  The  Outdoor  Channel.  Telecommunications  for  the  Deaf,  Inc.  (“  TDI”) 
 filed  an  opposition  to  the  petition  for  exemption.  3  For  the  reasons  discussed  below,  Yellow  House’s  petition  is  denied,  to  the  extent  stated  herein. 


 2.  In  Implementation  of  Section  305  of  the  Telecommunications  Act  of  1996  –  Video  Programming  Accessibility,  the  Commission  established  rules  and  implementation  schedules  for  the 
 closed  captioning  of  video  programming.  4  In  enacting  Section  713,  Congress  recognized  that,  in  certain  limited  situations,  the  costs  of  captioning  might  impose  an  undue  burden  on  video  programming  providers 
 or  owners,  and  it  authorized  the  Commission  to  adopt  appropriate  exemptions.  5  Congress  defined  “undue  burden”  to  mean  “significant  difficulty  or  expense.”  6  When  determining  if  the  closed  captioning 
 requirements  will  impose  an  undue  burden,  the  statute  requires  the  Commission  to  consider  the  following  factors:  (1)  the  nature  and  cost  of  the  closed  captions  for  the  programming;  (2)  the  impact  on  the 
 operation  of  the  provider  or  program  owner;  (3)  the  financial  resources  of  the  provider  or  program  owner; 
 1  47  C.  F.  R.  §  79.  1. 
 2  47  U.  S.  C.  §  613. 
 3  TDI  argues  that  grant  of  an  exemption  from  the  closed  captioning  rules  is  not  warranted  because  Petitioner  has  not 
 provided  sufficient  evidence  to  demonstrate  that  an  exemption  is  warranted  under  the  four  statutory  exemption  factors. 


 4  Implementation  of  Section  305  of  the  Telecommunications  Act  of  1996  -  Video  Programming  Accessibility,  13  FCC 
 Rcd  3272  (1997)  (“  Report  and  Order”).  5 
 47  U.  S.  C.  §  613(  d)(  1).  6 
 47  U.  S.  C.  §  613(  e). 
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 and  (4)  the  type  of  operations  of  the  provider  or  program  owner.  7  A  petition  for  exemption  must  be  supported  by  sufficient  evidence  to  demonstrate  that  compliance  with  the  requirements  to  close  caption 
 video  programming  would  cause  an  undue  burden.  8  Petitioners  also  are  instructed  to  submit  any  other  information  they  deem  appropriate  and  relevant  to  the  Commission’s  final  determination.  9 


 II.  DISCUSSION 
 3.  Yellow  House  submitted  a  petition  for  exemption  requesting  a  waiver  from  compliance  with  the  captioning  requirements.  Yellow  House’s  petition,  however,  fails  to  disclose  information 


 regarding  its  finances  and  assets  or  gross  or  net  proceeds.  Yellow  House  provided  no  documentation  from  which  its  financial  condition  can  be  assessed.  With  regard  to  receiving  financial  support  from 
 sponsors,  Yellow  House  notes  that  it  has  approximately  $25,000  in  sponsorships  and  that  “sponsorships  are  just  being  established.”  10  Such  information  fails  to  indicate  whether  Yellow  House  sought  out 
 additional  sponsorship  sources  or  whether  it  was  indeed  able  to  secure  additional  sources  of  revenue  for  the  continued  operation  of  its  program.  Without  documentation  regarding  Yellow  House’s  financial 
 condition,  it  is  impossible  for  the  Commission  to  determine  whether  Yellow  House  has  sufficient  justification  supporting  an  exemption  from  the  closed  captioning  requirements.  Our  decision  herein  is 
 without  prejudice  to  Yellow  House  bringing  a  future  petition  for  exemption  that  adequately  documents  that  compliance  with  our  rules  will  impose  an  undue  burden.  Implicit  in  the  Section  79.1(  f)  requirement 
 of  a  showing  as  to  the  financial  resources  of  a  petitioner,  such  as  Yellow  House,  is  the  question  of  the  extent  to  which  the  distributors  of  its  programming  can  be  called  upon  to  contribute  towards  the 
 captioning  expense.  Thus,  any  subsequent  petition  should  document  whether  Yellow  House  solicited  captioning  assistance  from  the  distributors  of  its  programming  and  the  response  to  these  solicitations. 
 Absent  such  a  petition,  petitioner  is  given  3  months  from  the  release  date  of  this  Order  to  come  into  complete  compliance  with  the  rules. 


 III.  ORDERING  CLAUSE 
 4.  Accordingly,  IT  IS  ORDERED  that  the  petition  for  exemption  from  the  closed  captioning  requirements  of  Section  79.1  of  the  Commission’s  rules  IS  DENIED.  Petitioner  must  comply 


 with  the  captioning  requirements  within  3  months  from  the  release  date  of  this  Order. 
 5.  This  action  is  taken  under  delegated  authority  pursuant  to  Section  0.283  of  the  Commission's  rules.  11 


 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 
 Steven  A.  Broeckaert  Deputy  Chief,  Policy  Division 
 Media  Bureau 


 7  Id.;  see  also  47  C.  F.  R.  §  79.  1(  f). 
 8  47  C.  F.  R.  §  79.1(  f)(  2). 
 9  47  C.  F.  R.  §  79.1(  f)(  3). 
 10  Petition  at  2. 
 11  47  C.  F.  R.  §  0.283. 
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