PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 07-3759 August 28, 2007 REMINDER TO VIDEO PROGRAMMING DISTRIBUTORS AND THE PUBLIC OF THE JANUARY 1, 2008, REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CLOSED CAPTIONING OF ENGLISH “PRE-RULE” NONEXEMPT VIDEO PROGRAMMING This Public Notice is to remind video programming distributors – including broadcasters, cable operators, and satellite television services1 – and the public of the upcoming closed captioning benchmark for “pre- rule” English language nonexempt video programming.2 Pre-rule video programming is programming that was first published or exhibited before January 1, 1998 (for analog programming)3 or before July 1, 2002 (for digital programming).4 As of January 1, 2008, 75% of all nonexempt pre-rule English language programming must be captioned per channel, per calendar quarter.5 This benchmark applies to both analog pre-rule video programming and digital pre-rule video programming. Closed captioning benchmarks and rules were established to ensure that video programming is accessible to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing in accordance with the mandate of Congress as set forth in Section 713 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.6 For more information regarding the Commission’s closed captioning rules and benchmarks, please see our closed captioning Factsheet, available at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/closedcaption.html. 1 See 47 C.F.R. § 79.1(a)(2). 2 Nonexempt programming is video programming that is not exempt pursuant to a self-implementing exemption found in 47 C.F.R. § 79.1(d), or pursuant to an exemption based on the undue burden standard found in 47 C.F.R. § 79.1(f ), and, accordingly, is subject to closed captioning requirements. See 47 C.F.R. § 79.1(a)(7). 3 See 47 C.F.R. § 79.1(a)(6)(i). 4 See 47 C.F.R. § 79.1(a)(6)(ii); see also Closed Captioning Requirements for Digital Television Receivers: Closed Captioning and Video Description of Video Programming, Implementation of Section 305 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Video Programming Accessibility, Report and Order, ET Docket No. 99-254, MM Docket No. 95-176, 15 FCC Rcd 16788 (2000) (Digital Closed Captioning Order) (addressing requirements and compliance dates). 5 See 47 C.F.R. §79.1(b)(2)(ii). Effective January 1, 2006, 100% of non-exempt “new” English language programming must be captioned. 47 C.F.R. §79.1(b)(1)(iv). 6 See Pub. L. 104-104, 110 Stat 56 (1996); 47 U.S.C. § 613. 2 As a further reminder, we note that the closed captioning requirements specified above are separate from video programming distributors’ obligations to make emergency information accessible to persons with hearing and vision disabilities, as set forth in 47 C.F.R. § 79.2 of our rules.7 The provisions of 47 C.F.R. § 79.2 apply to all video programming distributors, including those that are exempt from the closed captioning rules in Section 79.1.8 For more information, please see the Commission’s Public Notice on this issue, released December 29, 2006, which can be found at http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/openAttachment.do?link=DA-06-2627A1.pdf or our Factsheet at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/emergencyvideo.html. The full text of this document is available for public inspection and copying during regular business hours at the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW, Room CY-A257, Washington, DC, 20554. Copies may be purchased by contacting the FCC’s duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc., Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW, Room CY-B402, Washington D.C. 20554, telephone 1- 800-378-3160, facsimile 202-488-5563, or via e-mail www.bcpiweb.com. To request this Public Notice or the rule in accessible formats for persons with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). This document can also be downloaded in Word and Portable Document Format (PDF) at: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro. Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau Contacts: Amelia Brown (202) 418-2799 (voice), (202) 418- 7804 (TTY), Amelia.Brown@fcc.gov; or Traci Randolph, (202) 418-0569 (voice), (202) 418-0537 (TTY), Traci.Randolph@fcc.gov. -FCC- 7 See 47 C.F.R. § 79.2. 8 Id.