FCC Reinstates Video Description Rules
The FCC reinstated its video description rules in an order released Thursday. The commission unanimously adopted the rules, which were mandated by the Twenty-First Century Communications and Via Accessibility Act (CVAA) and set a July 1 deadline for compliance by broadcasters and pay-TV distributors. That date was something of a compromise as advocates for the blind had pushed for a March 1 deadline and industry groups wanted to push it back to October 2012 (CD Aug 19 p3). As expected, ESPN and Fox News are exempt from the rules (CD Aug 12 p12). A federal court tossed an earlier version of the FCC’s video description rules in 2002.
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The commission largely drew praise from industry and advocacy groups, though advocates for the blind said there are certain disappointing elements of the order. “Overall the community is very happy,” said Eric Bridges, director of advocacy and governmental affairs for the American Council of the Blind. “We're going to have 50 hours per quarter in the top five cable channels and the top four broadcast networks. It’s a good thing,” he said. The rules initially cover programming delivered to the top 25 TV markets, though the CVAA mandates the commission to extend the requirement to the top 60 markets before Oct. 8, 2016. Bridges said he was disappointed about a provision that will let cable networks out of the requirements if their ratings slip out of the top five. “It’s our hope that once a network makes an investment in doing the descriptions that they'll continue doing it, even if they fall out of the top five,” he said.
Democrats on the commission praised the order. “The July 1, 2012, date of enactment will allow users of video description to enjoy the new TV shows of next fall from the beginning, which is an integral component of the social importance of this item,” Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said. She said she was ecstatic the rules will be in place by the 22nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26. The compliance date could probably have been even earlier, Commissioner Michael Copps said, but he was pleased the commission moved the timeline up as much as it did. “Given the delay experienced by blind and visually impaired viewers for such an essential service we should be doing everything in our power to make sure they don’t wait a day more than is necessary,” Copps said.
Among industry groups, “balanced” was the watchword. The NAB said the rules work for all the interested parties, while NCTA praised the order for the flexibility it grants the cable industry in implementing the rules. American Cable Association President Matthew Polka said the FCC’s approach in this order “should serve as a model for how to adopt good public policy in the future without imposing too big a burden on smaller [cable] operators.”