GARBLED CAPTIONS ARE NO FUN- Feb, 2015
But the FCC is doing something about it.
New FCC rules for TV closed captioning now ensure that viewers who are deaf and hard of hearing have full access to programming, address captioning quality and provide guidance to video programming distributors and programmers. The rules apply to all television programming with captions, requiring that captions be:
Accurate: Captions must match the spoken words in the dialogue and convey background noises and other sounds to the fullest extent possible.
Synchronous: Captions must coincide with their corresponding spoken words and sounds to the greatest extent possible and must be displayed on the screen at a speed that can be read by viewers.
Complete: Captions must run from the beginning to the end of the program to the fullest extent possible.
Properly placed: Captions should not block other important visual content on the screen, overlap one another or run off the edge of the video screen.
The rules distinguish between pre-recorded, live, and near-live programming and explain how the standards apply to each type of programming, recognizing the greater hurdles involved with captioning live and near-live programming.
See -
If you see garbled captions, contact the station first and if no satisfaction is received, file an FCC complaint (they do read them and they do follow up) at:
WFLA, TV8 has recently outsourced its captions and the quality has fallen. If you see this in local news and programming, contact the Station Manager, Andy Alford and be specific-
ADVOCATE ADVOCATEADVOCATE
Chapter members should monitor TV8 news and local programming. The stories are often not captioned and if they are, the captioning runs behind and drops half of the story. The complaint procedure is under strict FCC rules for station response. If you do file a complaint to any station:
1. Provide details of the date and time and channel of incorrect or non-existent closed captioning that is to be reported to the station.
2. The station is required to follow up within 60 days of when the issue with closed caption occurred.
3. If the issue resolved, fine, if not, then contact the FCC and provide all the written documentation from steps 1 through 3 for follow up.
4. If you opt to send this list directly to the FCC, they will in turn forward the list to the station for follow up.
5. The station has thirty days to respond to an FCC complaint(s) regardless of source of complaint.
If our local station, ABC TV7, has failed captions, contact Station Manager Jack Bennington at
Other local stations are:
WTSB, TV10, Station Manager, Lee Griffin at -
WFTS, TV 11, Director of Engineering, Lowell Decker at -
The FCC requires all broadcasting stations to post an email address for caption complaints on their website.
Filing an FCC complaint--You have multiple options for filing a complaint with the FCC:
File a complaint online
By phone: 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322); TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322)
By mail (please include your name, address, contact information and as much detail about your complaint as possible):
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20554