Sources: July FCC Vote Expected On IP Clip Captioning

Broadcasters and cable operators may be battling over retransmission consent, but they are on the same side when it comes to closed captioning online clips of shows originally aired on TV.

The buzz around the commission is that the chairman is planning to circulate an item for a vote at the July 11 open meeting requiring broadcasters and cable operators to caption clips as well as long-form online versions of their shows.

In a joint filing, the National Association of Broadcasters and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association told the Federal Communications Commission they didn't think the FCC had the authority to regulate the captioning of online clips, but that if the FCC does, it should not make them responsible for those clips on third-party sites, including network web sites. NAB said the requirement would limit the number of clips that can be used and said a 24-hour deadline would be more reasonable.

It also said there were journalistic reasons why an uncaptioned version of a clip would be retained on a site along with a captioned version. NCTA urged the FCC to allow voluntary efforts to continue rather than imposing the clip mandate. It also urged the FCC to recognize the difficulty of captioning time-sensitive clips and its support for a 24-hour turnaround time.