Federal Communications Commission	DA 21-1493



DA 21-1493
Released:  December 1, 2021

Media Bureau Reminds Television Broadcasters of Phase in of 
Audio Description Rules to DMAs 71 Through 80 as of January 1, 2022
MB Docket No. 11-43

	On October 27, 2020, the Commission adopted the 2020 Audio Description Order, which expanded the Commission’s audio description rules by phasing them in for an additional 10 designated market areas (DMAs) each year for four years. Video Description:  Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, Report and Order, 35 FCC Rcd 12577 (2020) (2020 Audio Description Order).  Audio description makes video programming more accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired through “[t]he insertion of audio narrated descriptions of a television program’s key visual elements into natural pauses between the program’s dialogue.”  See 47 CFR § 79.3(a)(3).  The Commission’s audio description rules require certain television broadcast stations and multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to provide audio description for a portion of the video programming they televise to consumers.  See id. § 79.3(b).
  As a result, the Commission’s audio description rules extended to DMAs 61 through 70 as of January 1, 2021. Id. § 79.3(b)(1).
  We remind television broadcasters that the audio description rules next will extend to DMAs 71 through 80 on January 1, 2022. Id.  The requirements will extend to DMAs 81 through 90 on January 1, 2023, and to DMAs 91 through 100 on January 1, 2024.  Id.


	As set forth in the 2020 Audio Description Order, the expansion of the audio description rules applies to the relevant DMAs as determined by The Nielsen Company as of January 1, 2020. 2020 Audio Description Order, 35 FCC Rcd at 12583, para. 11.
  Accordingly, the audio description rules will extend to the following DMAs on January 1, 2022:

1. Omaha
2. Wichita-Hutchinson Plus
3. Springfield, MO
4. Charleston-Huntington
5. Columbia, SC
6. Rochester, NY
7. Flint-Saginaw-Bay City
8. Huntsville-Decatur (Flor)
9. Portland-Auburn
10. Toledo

Accessible Materials.  To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice).

For further information regarding this proceeding, contact Diana Sokolow, Policy Division, Media Bureau, 202-418-2120.
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