Investigation Report No. 2634
File no. / ACMA2011/1324Licensee / Prime Television (Northern) Pty Ltd
Station / 7Mate multichannel (NEN) Northern NSW
Type of service / Commercial television
Name of program / Air Force One (movie)
Date of broadcast / 9 July 2011
Relevant legislation / Clause 7(1)(o) [captioning] of Schedule 2 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 and Clause 38(1) [captioning] of Schedule 4, with regard to Clause 38(4) [multi-channel core broadcast condition]
Date finalised / 4 November 2011
Outcome / Breach ofclause7(1)(o) of Schedule 2 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.
The complaint
On 9 July 2011, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) received a complaint alleging that the licensee of 7Mate (Northern NSW), Prime Television (Northern) Pty Ltd failed to provide adequate captioning for the Air Force Onemoviebroadcast on 9 July 2011.The ACMA has investigated the licensee’s compliance withclause 7(1)(o) of Schedule 2 to the BSA in accordance with section 147 of the Act.[1]
The program
Air Force One is an American action film from 1997 starring Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman and Glenn Close. In the film, ‘hijackers seize the plane carrying the President of the United States and his family, but he (an ex-soldier) works from hiding to defeat them’. [2] The program aired at 8.30pm on 9 July 2011 on 7Mate (Northern NSW) and ran for a duration of 150 minutes.
Assessment
The assessment is based on written submissions from the complainant and the licensee, and a copy of the broadcast which was provided by the licensee to the ACMA, and was reviewed by the ACMA. Other sources consulted have been identified where relevant.
Issue: Did 7Mate (Northern NSW) provide a captioning service for the broadcast of Air Force One on 9 July 2011?
Relevant provisions
Clauses 7(1)(o) of Schedule 2 and 38 of Schedule 4 to the BSA are set out at Attachment A.
Complainant submissions
The complainant wrote the following to the ACMA on 9 July 2011:
I would like to raise a complaint against extremely poor captioning on 7Mate this evening. There was (sic) caption lines missing all night from 8:30pm in the movie, Air Force One, which made it impossible to follow the dialogue.
Licensee submissions
The licensee’s response to the ACMA, dated 4 July 2011, included the following:
We acknowledge that this program has appeared on our main channel previously with captions, and as such we were required to broadcast it on our multi-channel, 7mate, with captions. I would like to confirm that Prime took all necessary actions to ensure that the program was delivered to us with captions as part of a live relay feed from The Seven Network. I can also confirm that we did take delivery of the program complete with captions.
The .wmv file extracted from our off-air logger based at our Tamworth transmitter site shows that we have experienced some difficulties delivering captions during this program. In summary, these problems have now been identified as a technical issue, originating from (a)... decoding device that failed to carry some captions information in specific circumstances. As soon as the problem with the ... decoder was identified we contacted the supplier to advise them of the fault. Following a detailed investigation by our engineers and the suppliers engineers it was apparent that the device required software changes to be written and installed to enable it to operate as intended and to ensure correct operation in all circumstances.
I can advise that this new software has been tested and installed, and the ... decoding devises are now operating in the manner intended by the manufacturer, without fault of malfunction to date.
Prime take seriously its obligations to provide closed captions ... and we sincerely regret the inconvenience this equipment failure caused our viewers.
Additional licensee submissions
In a letter dated 19September 2011 in response to the ACMA’s Preliminary Investigation Report, the licensee made the following submissions:
Prime Television does not contest the Preliminary Findings that 7mate (Northern NSW) breached clause 7(1)(o) of Schedule 2 to the BSA.
As discussed in our initial correspondence, Prime Television acted swiftly to remedy the technical fault that caused the loss of captions during this program. We believe that the work performed by our engineers and the equipment supplier has ensured that our broadcast platform is able to receive all captions from The Seven Network and successfully deliver them to viewers throughout our network. We do not believe that further remedial action is required with regard to this matter.
Finding
The ACMA is of the view that 7Mate (Northern NSW) in relation to the broadcast of theAir Force One on 9July 2011,breachedclause 7(1)(o) of Schedule 2 to the BSA.
Reasons
The ACMA reviewed the program material and found that for the bulk of the program there were no captions. Where captions appeared these were typically subject to significant delays. In these circumstances, the licensee cannot be regarded as having provided a service as required and is therefore in breach ofclause 7(1)(o) of Schedule 2 to the BSAby failing to provide a captioning service under clause 38(1) of Schedule 4 of the Act.
ATTACHMENT A
Part3—Commercial television broadcasting licences
Division1—General
7 Conditions of commercial television broadcasting licences
(1)Each commercial television broadcasting licence is subject to the following conditions:
[...]
(o) if clause38 of Schedule4 (which deals with captioning of television programs for the deaf and hearing impaired) applies to the licensee—the licensee will comply with that clause.
...
Division3 -- Captioning
38 Captioning
Basic rules
(1) Subject to this clause, each commercial television broadcasting licensee ... must provide a captioning service for:
(a) television programs transmitted during prime viewing hours; and
(b) television news or current affairs programs transmitted outside prime viewing hours.
(2) Subclause(1) does not require the provision by a commercial television broadcasting licensee of a captioning service for a television program covered by paragraph 6(8)(d).
[...]
(4) If:
(a) a commercial television broadcasting licence is in force; and
(aa) the licence was not allocated under section38C; and
(b) the licensee provides a core/primary commercial television broadcasting service in the licence area; and
(c) the licensee provides:
(i)a SDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service; or
(ii)a HDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service;
in the licence area;then, before the end of the final digital television switchover day, subclause(1) does not require the provision of a captioning service for a television program transmitted on:
(d)the SDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service; or
(e)the HDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service;unless the program has been previously transmitted on the core/primary commercial television broadcasting service
(4A) If:
(a)subsection 41B(2), (2C) or (2CB) applies to a commercial television broadcasting licence; and
(c)the licensee provides a SDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service that is the licensee’s primary commercial television broadcasting service; and
(d)the licensee provides:
(i) another SDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service; or
(ii)a HDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service;then, before the end of the final digital television switchover day, subclause(1) does not require the provision of a captioning service for a television program transmitted on:
(e)the other SDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service; or
(f)the HDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service;unless the program has been previously transmitted on the primary commercial television broadcasting service.
(4B) If:
(a)a commercial television broadcasting licence is allocated under section38C; and
(b)the licensee provides a primary commercial television broadcasting service in the licence area; and
(c)the licensee provides in the licence area:
(i)another SDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service; or
(ii)a HDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service;then, before the end of the final digital television switchover day, subclause(1) does not require the provision of a captioning service for a television program transmitted on:
(d)the other SDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service; or
(e)the HDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service;unless the program has been previously transmitted on the primary commercial television broadcasting service.
[...]
(6)Subclause(1) does not require the provision of a captioning service by the licensee of a commercial television broadcasting licence that was allocated under subsection 40(1) during:
(a)the first year of operation of the licence; or
(b)if the ACMA, by written notice given to the licensee, allows a longer period—that longer period.
[...]
(9) If:
(a)a commercial television broadcasting licence is in force; and
(aa) the licence was not allocated under section38C; and
(b)before the end of the final digital television switchover day, the licensee transmits a television program on:
(i)a SDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service; or
(ii)a HDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service;
in the licence area; and
(c)the program has been previously transmitted on another commercial television broadcasting service provided by the licensee in the licence area; and
(d)the licensee provided a captioning service for the program when the program was so previously transmitted on the other service;the licensee must provide a captioning service for the television program transmitted as mentioned in paragraph(b).
(9A) If:
(a)a commercial television broadcasting licence is allocated under section38C; and
(b)before the end of the final digital television switchover day, the licensee transmits a television program on:
(i)a SDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service; or
(ii) a HDTV multichannelled commercial television broadcasting service;
in the licence area; and
(c)the program has been previously transmitted on another commercial television broadcasting service provided by the licensee in the licence area; and
(d)the licensee provided a captioning service for the program when the program was so previously transmitted on the other service;the licensee must provide a captioning service for the television program transmitted as mentioned in paragraph(b).
[...]
Prime viewing hours
(11) For the purposes of subclause(1), prime viewing hours are the hours:
(a)beginning at 6 pm each day or, if another time is prescribed, beginning at that prescribed time each day; and
(b)ending at 10.30 pm on the same day or, if another time is prescribed, ending at that prescribed time on the same day.
......
From Section 6 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992:
"commercial television broadcasting licence" means a licence under Part4 to provide:
(aa) in the case of a licence allocated under section38C—the commercial television broadcasting services that, under section41CA, are authorised by the licence; or
(a)in the case of a licence allocated under subsection 40(1)—a commercial television broadcasting service; or
(b)in any other case—the commercial television broadcasting services that, under section41B or 41C, are authorised by the licence.
"commercial television broadcasting service" means a commercial broadcasting service that provides television programs.
ACMA Investigation Report – Air Force One broadcast on 9 July 2011
[1]Section 147 (b) of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 sets out the ACMA’s role in investigating complaints about breaches of a licence condition.
[2]