On the heels of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990 was enacted fourteen years ago.  This Act has inserted decoders into virtually every home in the country with TV sets 13” or larger.  In addition, Section 713 of the Telecommunication Act of 1996 currently requires that 75% of all new programming be captioned, which will go up to 100% of all new programming in 2006.

Closed captioning is critical to deaf and hard of hearing individuals, both for personal safety, education, and with respect to quality of life.  Individuals who rely on closed captioning in order to have access to video programming continue to experience numerous problems with the captioning quality.  This has resulted in a lack of access to video programming that is contrary to the mandates of the Telecommunications Act.  The FCC’s adoption of the captioning rules was the first step towards increasing the availability of captioned programming.  However, it has become clear that additional enforcement mechanisms are required in order to ensure full implementation of the rules and to increase accountability for noncompliance with the rules.  In addition, measures are needed to ensure that the occurrence of technical problems is minimized and to ensure that technical problems that do occur are remedied efficiently and expeditiously.  The FCC also must adopt quality of service standards in order to ensure that video programming is fully accessible to all viewers who rely on captioning.

"When the FCC implemented the original captioning regulations, the purpose was to get captions on the TV screen.  We now ask that the FCC expand on its commitment to monitor and enforce acceptable quality TV captioning", says Claude Stout, Executive Director of TDI.  Stout adds,  “We also ask that the FCC ensure that timely communication and resolution on captioning issues occur by quickly working in concert with consumers, captioning providers, and program producers and distributors.”

"Deviation of accuracy and synchronization between the spoken word and captions presented on the screen is especially noticeable to people who once enjoyed sound", comments Lois Maroney, President of the Association of Late-Deafened Adults, Inc.  "It is frustrating to misinterpret important parts of television programs because captions are lacking in quality."

“A TV program where the captioning is too riddled with errors to understand the action, or the captions are cut off in the final minutes so you never know what the ending was, shouldn’t be considered acceptable for meeting the captioning requirements,” said Cheryl Heppner, Vice Chair of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network. She adds, “We have seen programs that are virtually unreadable.  Other programs have captioning dropped several minutes before the end of the show, leaving us hanging high and dry, wondering what happened at the end.” 

“Captioning must be treated with the same respect as sound”, emphasized Nancy Bloch, CEO of National Association of the Deaf.  She adds, “A viewer who can hear would never accept spoken words that are regularly unintelligible or missing and sound that suddenly stops.  Nor would their attempts to call and inform the station of a problem be treated as having no sense of urgency.”

“As we approach the 100% benchmark, captioning quality issues are becoming more apparent”, says Brenda Battat, Senior Director of Policy and Development at Self Help for Hard of Hearing People.  Ms. Battat also points out, “Some programs have been listed as being captioned in the newspaper, but this often turns out not to be the case.  The petition aims to address those issues and more.”

On July 23, 2004, TDI filed a Petition for Rulemaking.  We strongly encourage everyone who uses captioning when watching television to file comments in support of this petition with the FCC and ask them to improve captioning quality for all.

As part of the organizations’ ongoing efforts to promote more consumer involvement with the FCC and other government agencies, we encourage every television viewer who uses closed captioning to share their own personal experiences with the FCC.  Since a docket number has not yet been assigned to our petition, you may either email your comments to fccinfo@fcc.gov or fax them to 1-866-418-0232.  Be sure you tell the FCC you are talking about the Captioning Petition filed on July 23, 2004.  When citing problems with quality of a program, be sure to include the following information:  program, date(s) and times, channel (Use names like HBO, USA Network, not numbers.), city and state.

Please send a copy of your comments to your organization or to TDI at info@tdi-online.org or FAX 301-589-3797.  When our petition receives a docket number, we will announce it as soon as it becomes available.

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About TDI – Also known as Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc., TDI is a non-profit advocacy organization that promotes equal access to telecommunications and media for individuals who are deaf, late deafened, hard-of-hearing or deaf-blind.  Since 1968, TDI has successfully advocated for federal legislation such as the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Television Decoder Circuitry Act, both of 1990, as well as other legislation and policies mandating greater access to wireless technology, captioning as well as other telecommunication and media technologies.  TDI publishes annually, a National Directory & Resource Guide, commonly known as The Blue Book, a popular resource book for people with hearing loss, as well as The GA-SK quarterly news magazine.  For more information about TDI, go to www.tdi-online.org

About ALDA – ALDA was formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1987. Most of those that gathered there were total strangers who had never met or talked to another deafened person, yet they found themselves wonderfully comfortable with one another. There was an unspoken feeling of understanding and patience with each other's communication difficulties. The marvelous sense of fellowship lasted and led to more social gatherings and self help support groups, which swiftly evolved into the Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA). Today, ALDA's membership is international in scope. ALDA works collaboratively with other organizations around the world serving the needs of late-deafened people and extends a welcome to everyone, late deafened or not, who supports our goals.   For more information, go to www.alda.org.

About DHHCAN – The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network (DHHCAN) is the premier coalition of national consumer organizations representing a wide continuum of deaf and hard of hearing people, including those who are deaf-blind and late-deafened.  There are over 28 million deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States.   Members of DHHCAN include American Association of the Deaf-Blind (AADB), ADARA, ALDA, American Society for Deaf Children (ASDC), Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf (CEASD), CSD (formerly known as Communication Service of the Deaf), Deaf Seniors of America (DSA), Gallaudet University, Gallaudet University Alumni Association (GUAA), NAD, National Black Deaf Advocates (NBDA), National Catholic Office of the Deaf (NCOD), Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), TDI, USA Deaf Sports Federation (USADSF), and WGBH.  For more information, contact Jerald Jordan at Jerald.Jordan@verizon.net.

About NAD – The National Association of the Deaf (NAD), established in 1880, is the oldest and largest constituency organization safeguarding the accessibility and civil rights of 28 million deaf and hard of hearing Americans in education, employment, health care, and telecommunications.  A private, non-profit organization, the NAD is a dynamic federation of 51 state association affiliates including the District of Columbia, organizational affiliates, and direct members.  Programs and activities include grassroots advocacy and empowerment, captioned media, certification of American Sign Language professionals; certification of sign language interpreters; deafness-related information and publications, legal assistance, policy development and research, public awareness, and youth leadership development.  Headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, the NAD also has program offices in Spartanburg, South Carolina. For more information, go to www.nad.org.

About SHHH – Self Help for Hard of Hearing People is the nation’s largest organization for people with hearing loss. SHHH exists to open the world of communication for people with hearing loss through information, education, advocacy and support.  For more information, go to www.shhh.org.