[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 87 (Friday, May 4, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26550-26551]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10815]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[CG Docket No. 06-181; DA 12-514]
Notice of Need To File Updated Information for Some Closed
Captioning Exemption Petitions
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission, via the Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau (Bureau) alerts certain entities that filed
petitions for exemption from the Commission's closed captioning rules
prior to the passage of the Twenty-First Century Communications and
Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA), of the need to either (1)
affirm that the information provided in their previously submitted
petition is still accurate and up-to-date, (2) update previously
submitted petitions with the information indicated below, or (3)
withdraw their previously submitted petitions. The intended action is
to ensure that information provided in each petition is current and
accurate.
DATES: Effective May 4, 2012, Petitions subject to document DA 12-514
will be dismissed on July 5, 2012, without prejudice to filing a new
petition for exemption, if not affirmed, updated, or withdrawn as set
forth in document DA 12-514.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Traci Randolph, Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, at (202) 418-0569 (voice), (202) 418-0537
(TTY); email: Traci.Randolph@fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's public
notice, document DA 12-514, released April 2, 2012, in CG Docket No.
06-181. The full text of document DA 12-514 and copies of any
subsequently filed documents in this matter will be available for
public inspection and copying during regular business hours at the FCC
Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-
A257, Washington, DC 20554. Document DA 12-514 and copies of
subsequently filed documents in this matter may also be purchased from
the Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copying and Printing,
Inc. (BCPI), at Portals II, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-B402,
Washington, DC 20554. Customers may contact BCPI at its Web site:
http://www.bcpiweb.com, or by calling (202) 488-5300. Document DA 12-
514 and the Appendix listing Unresolved Petitions for Individual Closed
Captioning Exemptions can also be downloaded in Word or Portable
Document Format (PDF) at: http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/economically-burdensome-exemption-closed-captioning-requirements.
Synopsis
From October 2005 through August 2006, the Commission received
approximately 600 petitions for individual closed captioning exemptions
under section 713(d)(3) of the Act. In 2006, the Commission's Consumer
and Governmental Affairs Bureau (Bureau) granted two of these petitions
in the Anglers Order, 21 FCC Rcd 10094, and during the weeks that
followed, granted an additional 303 petitions in reliance on the
reasoning of the Anglers Order. In 2006, the Commission received an
Application for Review that challenged the exemptions granted in and
those that relied on the Anglers Order. On October 20, 2011, the FCC
granted the Application for Review, and in the Anglers Reversal MO&O,
published at 76 FR 67376, November 1, 2011; 76 FR 67377, November 1,
2011; and at 76 FR 67397, November 1, 2011, reversed these exemptions.
The Anglers Reversal MO&O also set forth guidance on the information
and documentation that closed captioning petitions should contain,
along with standards that the Bureau should use to determine when a
closed captioning exemption is warranted.
At issue in document DA 12-514 are the unresolved petitions for
exemption that are not subject to the Anglers Reversal MO&O, and that
were filed before passage of the CVAA. Although some of these petitions
were previously placed on public notice, no decision to grant or to
deny was ever made regarding these petitions. The Bureau is now ready
to apply the standards restored by the Anglers Reversal MO&O to resolve
the claims for an exemption by these petitioners. However, the Bureau
realizes that considerable time has passed since many of these
petitions were first filed, and that various circumstances including,
but not limited to, the financial status of the petitioners and the
cost of captioning, may have changed.
[[Page 26551]]
Accordingly, in order to ensure that information provided in each
petition is current and accurate, the Bureau requires each petitioner
whose petition is listed in document DA 12-514 to do one of the
following by July 5, 2012: (1) File an affirmation with the FCC that
its previously submitted petition and supporting information is
accurate and up-to-date; (2) file updated information in accordance
with the factors listed below to support its claim that captioning its
program(s) would be economically burdensome; or (3) withdraw its
previously submitted petition.
Any petitioner listed in document DA 12-514 that does not take one
of the steps listed above by July 5, 2012, will have its pending
petition dismissed without prejudice on July 5, 2012. A petitioner that
is interested in continuing to request a closed captioning exemption
for its programming must include up-to-date evidence, supported by
affidavit, demonstrating that it would be economically burdensome to
provide closed captioning on the specific programming for which an
exemption is sought. Specifically, each petition should contain current
and detailed documentation, in accordance with the original factors
outlined in section 713(e) of the Act and Sec. 79.1(f) of Commission's
rules, to support a claim that providing closed captions would be
economically burdensome (would result in a ``significant difficulty or
expense'') as defined by the following criteria: (1) The nature and
cost of the closed captions for the programming; (2) the impact on the
operation of the provider or program owner; (3) the financial resources
of the provider or program owner; and (4) the type of operations of the
provider or program owner.
In order to make the above showing that providing captioning would
be economically burdensome, each petitioner must:
Provide documentation of its financial status sufficient
to demonstrate its inability to afford closed captioning--for example,
profit and loss statements or bank statement information. (This
documentation should not just include the resources devoted to or the
costs associated with the television program(s) at issue);
Provide information about the costs of captioning the
specific program for which the exemption is sought;
Verify that it has sought closed captioning assistance
(e.g., funding, services) from its video programming distributor and
note the extent to which such assistance has been provided or rejected;
Verify that it has sought additional sponsorship sources
or other sources of revenue for captioning, and show that, even if
these efforts have not successfully produced assistance, it does not
otherwise have the means to provide captioning for its programming; and
Provide information on the type of its operation(s) and
the impact that providing captions would have on its programming
activities, for example, the extent to which its programming might not
be shown if it is required to provide captions.
In addition, each petitioner may describe other factors that it
deems relevant to an exemption determination, as well as any
alternatives that could be a reasonable substitute for the closed
captioning requirements. Each petition should also contain a specific
list of names of the program(s) for which the petitioner is seeking an
exemption. Finally, as noted above, each petition must be supported by
an affidavit. Failure to support an exemption request with adequate
explanation and evidence to make these showings, supported by an
affidavit, will result in dismissal of the request.
Each updated petition that provides sufficient information will be
placed on public notice to allow the public to comment on the merits of
the petition. After giving the public an opportunity to submit
comments, the Bureau will conduct an individual review of each petition
to determine the extent to which providing captioning would be
economically burdensome for the petitioner, based on information
provided in the petition and any comments received, and will issue an
order either granting or denying the petition.
Federal Communications Commission.
Karen Peltz Strauss,
Deputy Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2012-10815 Filed 5-3-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P