The following document has been
prepared by the American Council of the Blind to assist users and
potential users of video description, to know what the service is,
what the Federal Communications Commission requires of those
responsible for providing it, and what you can do to insure it is
available to you. ACB quotes from the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) rule and order establishing the requirements for
video description, but this document is not a publication of the FCC
and represents only the understanding and opinions of the American
Council of the Blind with respect to the following content.
Q. What is video description?
A. The insertion of audio narrated descriptions of a television program's key visual elements into natural pauses between the program's dialogue.
Q. Who is responsible to include video description in their programs?
A. All the 4 major commercial
television networks; ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC. Public television (PBS)
has been providing described video for a number of years. Also
covered are the top 5 cable stations that are networks but not in the
"classic sense, i.e., rather than broadcasting over the airways, they
deliver television signals via cable or satellite. these cable
networks include Lifetime, TBS, TNT, Nickelodeon and USA network.
Q. Who has to carry the descriptive video programs?
A. Every regular TV station that is affiliated with one of the commercial networks and is located in one of the top 25 TV markets in the U.S. must carry the descriptive video that comes with the programs originating on the network. Also the cable and satellite systems that have at least 50,000 subscribers must carry the video description if it is contained in any program they are transmitting through the cable or satellite.
Q. How much programming must be described and how are programs selected?
A. Each of the above covered
entities must present 50 hours of described programming per calendar
quarter. It is up to the providers of programming to decide which
programs will be described, although they must choose between prime
time or childrens programming, and the resulting schedule for each
entity is expected to be a mix of the two.
Q. Are there any exemptions to the rule?
A. Yes. If a program already has a program related secondary audio channel running, the video description does not take precedence. This was done to allow for continued use of the SAP channel for foreign language translations of programming since there are presentations where Spanish is run on the SAP. This restriction is viewed as minimum since there are not many uses of the SAP for foreign language translations, and eventually digital television will eliminate any conflicts between the need for Spanish-language translation and the need for described video, since there are expected to be up to 16 subchannels that will be able to accommodate many purposes.
Exemptions can also be granted where
the covered entities can show that video description would impose an
undue burden or is not technically achievable. The 18- month lead
time before the rule took effect was designed to accommodate the need
for covered entities to get ready for compliance and the limitation
concerning exactly which entities would be subject to the rule was
designed to insure that those covered could easily afford to
comply.
Q. When did the rule take effect?
A. April 1, 2002.
Q. What about emergency information scrolled at the bottom of the screen?
A. Scrolling text of an emergency nature must be indicated by tones when presented. This requirement was incorporated in the rule for many reasons including the ability of local stations to technically provide description of the text while a program is running, the expectation of the FCC that local stations would break in when an emergency was severe enough to warrant that, and the already existing obligation of stations to allow governmental interruption of programming when a serious emergency requires it.
In the event that a local station
interrupts programming, they must make any visual information
accessible to visually impaired audience members by for example
defining the area flashing in red. ACB suggests that if viewers hear
a tone during a program, they call local authorities, listen to radio
or take other actions to find out if there is an emergency that could
pose danger. We make that suggestion with the caveat that we also
expect that the local stations will break in and provide spoken
information, should the emergency be so severe as to warrant it and
we leave it up to each viewer to decide what to do. ACB does support
the development of solutions to make scrolling text accessible and
will incorporate this concern in our ongoing advocacy efforts.
Q. My television is a stereo TV and is capable of getting the secondary audio channel, but it has one of those on-screen menus and I can't access it to turn on the SAP for description. What can I do?
A. This is a difficult issue.
If you have a remote control that either has a SAP selection button
on it, or your TV can respond to a universal remote you can buy that
can be used to select SAP, then you can try those solutions. Other
solutions include seeing if your cable box or satellite receiver has
a SAP selection button, or if your VCR has one. If all else fails,
then check with Radio Shack or another electronics company to see
about where you might be able to purchase a piece of equipment you
might hook up to a stereo. In the not too distant future, television
stations will be broadcasting digital signals and the new televisions
or converters will incorporate SAP selection capabilities.
Q. What should I do if I don't get video description even though I know it is supposed to be on a program?
A. Now our discussion gets more interesting.
First we need to understand two issues. One is that communications are not always as good as they should be in the television industry. In fact, we have heard that other rules implemented by the FCC often took awhile to get implemented at the TV station and network levels because the lawyers and the governmental folks knew about them, but did not communicate with the field. So if a spokesperson for your station or network acts as if he or she never heard of the rule, then that very well may be the case. Second, there is an issue of the technology required to pass along the secondary audio programming through a cable or satellite system. Even though a cable system or satellite provider may have descriptive video running on a SAP channel for one or two stations, they need to have a SAP adaptor for each of the channels that would be sending out the program with description. In this case, you may believe that they should pass through the SAP channel for say ABC, since you have already heard description on another channel such as PBS. If they tell you that they need to order equipment or have that equipment on order already, then they may well be telling you the truth. All this even though covered entities had 18 months to get ready.
If you are advised by the cable system, satellite TV, or regular TV station that they either did not know or just found out about their obligation, then you may want to ask them how long it will take for them to get the equipment and install it?
Depending upon their answer, or in
the worst case where they might say they do not believe they are
obligated or just flat out say they are not going to do it; you will
need to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission.
We suggest you do this through ACB so we can track the complaints and
see where there are the most problems, but you are certainly free to
go straight to the FCC with the complaint.
Q. How do I file a complaint and what information do I need to have?
A. ACB again suggests that you file a complaint through us, but the FCC will also take complaints directly in whatever way you reasonably communicate. This means, by letter, by fax, by email, by braille, or other reasonable means of communications. Here is what they say and what they need.
(1) A complainant may file a complaint concerning an alleged violation of the video description requirements of this section by transmitting it to the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) at the Commission by any reasonable means, such as letter, facsimile transmission, telephone (voice/TRS/TTY), Internet e-mail, audio-cassette recording, and Braille, or some other method that would best accommodate the complainant's disability.
Complaints should be addressed to: Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, Consumer Inquiries & Complaints Division, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554. A complaint must include
(i) The name and address of the complainant;(ii) The name and address of the broadcast station against whom the complaint is alleged and its call letters and network affiliation, or the name and address of the MVPD against whom the complaint is alleged and the name of the network that provides the programming that is the subject of the complaint;
(iii) A statement of facts sufficient to show that the video programming distributor has violated or is violating the Commission's rules, and, if applicable, the date and time of the alleged violation;
(iv) The specific relief or satisfaction sought by the complainant; and
(v) The complainant's preferred format or method of response to the complaint (such as letter, facsimile transmission, telephone (voice/TRS/TTY), Internet e-mail, or some other method that would best accommodate the complainant's disability).
(2) The Commission will promptly forward complaints satisfying the requirements to the video programming distributor involved.
The video programming distributor must respond to the complaint within a specified time, generally within 30 days. The Commission may authorize Commission staff to either shorten or lengthen the time required for responding to complaints in particular cases.
(3) The Commission will review all relevant information provided by the complainant and the video programming distributor and will request additional information from either or both parties when needed for a full resolution of the complaint.
(i) The Commission may rely on certifications from programming suppliers, including programming producers, programming owners, networks, syndicators and other distributors, to demonstrate compliance. The Commission will not hold the video programming distributor responsible for situations where a program source falsely certifies that programming that it delivered to the video programming distributor meets our video description requirements if the video programming distributor is unaware that the certification is false. Appropriate action may be taken with respect to deliberate falsifications.(ii) If the Commission finds that a video programming distributor has violated the video description requirements of this section, it may impose penalties, including a requirement that the video programming distributor deliver video programming containing video description in excess of its requirements.
(f) Private rights of action are prohibited. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize any private right of action to enforce any requirement of this section. The Commission shall have exclusive jurisdiction with respect to any complaint under this section.
Q. What did all of that mean?
A. If you have gotten in touch with the station or cable or satellite provider about having tried to get a described program and they either refused to do it or don't seem to be diligently trying to carry the described programming, then send ACB or the FCC a letter or email explaining what you were trying to watch, when it was on without video description, what answers you got when you tried to resolve the problem and with whom you spoke or corresponded and their contact information along with yours. You also need to tell the FCC what you consider would be an appropriate remedy for the situation. ACB will forward the complaint or the FCC will take it directly from you.
The FCC may require more information
from either you or the folks against whom you filed the complaint.
they can order the provider to comply with the rule and they can also
order them to supply more video description as a way of making up for
the lack of access.
Q. Where can I get more information?
A. From the Federal Communications Commission. Visit their website at http://www.fcc.gov. Call them at these numbers Voice: 1-888-225-5322 (CALL-FCC); TTY: 1.888.835.5322 (TELL-
FCC); FAX: 202.418.0232. E-mail the
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) at ccinfo@fcc.gov.
Q. I don't have cable or satellite and my local stations are not in the top 25 TV markets. Can I get any descriptive video?
A. There is no obligation on the part of your local channels to carry described programming. However, if your local broadcasters already have the equipment to pass the described video along to you, then, whether or not they are in the top 25 markets, and whether or not they have in excess of 50,000 subscribers, the rule requires them to deliver the described video service to you.
If this is not the case, however, don't dispair. The top 25 markets may change and your locality may become one of them at some point. You may also try talking with your local stations to see about their getting the equipment to pass along the video description they receive. Otherwise, you may wish to invest in cable or satellite to get at least the cable channels and any other channels that would be carrying described programming.
Eventually, digital television will
take over and ACB is working both to increase and improve the amount
of programming available and to address the remaining issues
regarding scrolling text on screens.
Q. I love video description and my local radio reading service! Now I find that video description is being put on the SAP channel and that gets rid of the radio reading service. What can I do?
A. This is a thorny question since this unintended consequence comes as a surprise to all of us. While digital television and it's many audio subchannels will eventually offer the long term solution, either shared SAP access, local community access channels on cable, or other options still to be developed will need to solve the short term issue. ACB is committed to the continued health and viability of radio reading services as well as that of descriptive video and we are working to help in finding a solution to this problem.
It is ironic that the two instances
where we know this to be happening involve the public broadcasting
stations and from a legal perspective there is no real change from
the past. PBS is not required under the FCC rule to carry video
description. This means that the leader in described television
programming which has been able to carry a mix of DVS and radio
reading in these known incidents must grapple with what is a
temporary but clearly difficult dilemma; support video description
expansion for which it is known to be the leader, or support radio
reading for which it has become at least in the identified problem
areas a relied upon resource? The answer should be the product of
negotiation with all impacted persons rather than any unilateral
decision which should be made in the context of these two competing
benefits.
Q. Will there be more programming with video description than is currently offered?
A. ACB believes that video description will become a natural part of programming over time. Once the initial kinks are worked out of the system and the television industry builds description into it's ongoing planning and budgeting cycles; ACB believes our access to television will be as reliable as is that of all other viewers.
Webmaster: pprice@indy.rr.com
Updated: April 9, 2003