Federal Communications Commission FCC 17-88
STATEMENT OF
CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI
Re: Video Description: Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video 
Accessibility Act of 2010, MB Docket No. 11-43.
One of the things that binds us is a culture that celebrates the timeless moments from our favorite 
television shows.  Families and friends are brought together by rehashing that time Li’l Sebastian visited 
the Pawnee Parks and Recreation office
1
or the time Dwight Schrute’s stapler got jello-ed.
2
  Workplace 
humor oftentimes centers around recalling Henry Winkler’s blithe jump-of-the-shark not once,
3
but 
twice,
4
or (for old-school TV connoisseurs) the epic chocolate conveyer belt fail in I Love Lucy.
5
But imagine if you couldn’t really know about these shared moments of American culture.  So 
much of comedy, drama, and suspense in television depends on visual cues—subtle moments that you 
need to perceive to fully appreciate the moment.  If you are blind or visually impaired, you just can’t 
perceive them.
That’s where video description comes in.  Video description involves a narrator describing the 
critical visual elements of a program.  Currently, under the FCC’s rules, certain networks are required to 
provide 50 hours of video described programming per quarter.  In this Order, we expand the availability 
of video described programming on top-rated broadcast and non-broadcast networks for Americans who 
are blind or visually impaired.  In particular, we increase the hours requirement to 87.5, which is as high 
as our statutory authority permits.  Additionally, the new rules we adopt today provide more flexibility for 
networks and American viewers by permitting the additional hours of video described programming to be 
aired at any time between 6 a.m. and midnight.
I’d like to thank Michelle Carey, Lyle Elder, Martha Heller, Maria Mullarkey, and Mary Beth 
Murphy from the Media Bureau for their hard work on this Order.  This decision will allow Americans 
who rely on video description to have greater access to described programming.  Or, in more colloquial 
terms, they’ll better appreciate the hilarity of Dre Johnson’s explanation in black-ish that “no matter who 
you are, or where you’re at, it’s your duty to give the nod.”
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1
Everyone Loves Lil’ Sebastian from Parks and Recreation, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np3-PVCjOQg.
2
Stapler in Jello from The Office, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glFrp-CmNVA.
3
Fonzie Jumps the Shark from Happy Days, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvGopsM1G9g. 
4
Henry Winkler Jumps the Shark . . . again . . . from Arrested Development, 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jm6B31HKBw.
5
Lucy and Ethel wrap chocolates! from I Love Lucy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmAwcMNxGqM.
6
The Nod from black-ish, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0Zn4NCsP9Q.