ESPN captions programs that displayed in their entirety on TV.įor more information on the regulations, check out “FCC’s New Closed Captioning Rules Kick Into Gear” on the FCC Law Blog.
This last point explained why ESPN’s full-length shows such as Mike & Mike in the Morning ( Figure 2) do have captioning, while none of the highlights that I watched do.įigure 2. The rules also only relate to full-length programming, not clips or highlights of this programming. If the content is never shown on television with captions, there is no requirement to caption for streaming. The FCC regulations and interpretations thereof make several points clear. There are several other classes of content covered, including live content published with captions on TV, which must be captioned on the internet by March 30, 2013, and older content that predates the act.
If content was edited for internet distribution, the deadline is pushed back a year until Sept. That is, prerecorded programming that was not edited for internet distribution must be captioned for the web if it was shown on television on or after Sept. Specifically, under powers flowing from the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, the Federal Communications Commission issued regulations called the IP Closed Captioning rules in August 2012, which went into effect for some classes of video soon thereafter on Sept.
The next class of producers who must add closed captions to their streaming videos are broadcasters, but only with regard to content that has been previously played on TV with closed captions. Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 Videos from the Department of Health and Human Services website use YouTube’s captioning system to meet the Section 508 requirements.
More on how to use YouTube follows.įigure 1. For example, the surgeon general videos available from the Department of Health and Human Services website use YouTube ( Figure 1), as do videos from IRS.gov and my home state of Virginia. Interestingly, several agencies meet this requirement via YouTube’s captioning. 794d) states that “All training and informational video and multimedia productions which support the agency’s mission, regardless of format, that contain speech or other audio information necessary for the comprehension of the content, shall be open or closed captioned.” Beyond these federal requirements, note that states that receive federal funds under the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 must also comply with Section 508 to some degree. Starting with federal agencies, Section 508 1194.24(c) of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Actįour laws create the obligation to caption. Let’s start with those legally required to caption. Two classes of websites caption those required by law and those who caption voluntarily.
While each has a unique format and structure, the content of all closed caption files is similar, primarily consisting of the textual data and time code information that dictates when it’s displayed. There are many closed captions standards, and several are discussed here. Technically, background sounds and other nonvocal audio don’t have to be incorporated into the text description, since subtitles are not designed for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, but these elements are often included. Subtitles are typically implemented to allow viewers to watch videos produced in different languages. In contrast, open captions are burned into the video stream and can’t be disabled. They are also closed, so they can be disabled for viewers with no hearing disabilities. Closed captions incorporate all elements of the audio experience, including identifying background sounds, the identity of the speaker, the existence of background music, descriptions of how the speaker is talking, and similar information. Creating Closed Captions for Streaming VideoĬlosed captions enable deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to access the audio components of the audio/video experience.Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010.