FCC Proposes to Expand Video Description Rules

The Federal Communications Commission adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that recommends updating its video description rules to expand the availability of -- and consumer access to -- video described programming. Video description makes video programming accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired by enabling audio-narration to describe key visual elements of a television program during pauses in the dialogue. Through video description, individuals who are blind or visually impaired can independently enjoy and follow popular television shows. Since their initial adoption, the video description rules have provided substantial benefits to persons who are blind or visually impaired by making television programming more accessible. The NPRM tentatively concludes that these substantial benefits outweigh the costs of the recommended additional requirements. Specifically, the NPRM proposes to:

• Increase the required amount of video described programming on each included network carried by a covered broadcast station or multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) from 50 hours per calendar quarter to 87.5 hours;
• Increase the number of networks subject to the video description rules from four broadcast and five non-broadcast networks to five broadcast and ten non-broadcast networks;
• Adopt a no-backsliding rule, which would ensure that included networks remain subject to the requirements even if they fall out of the top five or top ten ranking;
• Remove the threshold requirement that non-broadcast networks must reach 50 percent of pay-TV households in order to be subject to our video description rules;
• Require that covered distributors provide dedicated customer service contacts who can answer questions about video description; and
• Require that petitions for exemptions from the video description requirements and related filings be electronically filed with the Commission.