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How to Submit a Paper to a Digital Television Review
Schedule 4 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (BSA) requires the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts to cause to be conducted, before
1 January 2000, a review into, amongst other matters:
Whether any amendments of Part 4 of this schedule should be made"
(clause 59 (1)(de)).
Part 4 of Schedule 4 to the BSA relates to regulations determining standards for the digital television formats, captioning for the deaf and hearing impaired, technical standards for digital transmissions of television broadcasting services and datacasting standards.
As each element of Part 4 of Schedule 4 to the BSA is quite distinct in terms of issues to be addressed, the four elements will be considered separately.
This call for submissions relates to the review of captioning standards detailed at clause 38 of Schedule 4 to the BSA. The attached issues paper seeks comments for consideration in this review.
Submissions are invited from interested parties on the matters covered in this paper, and any other issues considered relevant to this review, in order to determine whether any changes are needed to Part 4 of Schedule 4 to the BSA, and to determine the scope of regulations which should be made in relation to captioning standards.
Submissions should be provided by Friday 26 February 1999 and be addressed to:
The General Manager
Licensed Broadcasting
Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
GPO Box 2154
CANBERRA ACT 2601
If possible, an electronic version of the submission should be provided, preferably in Word for Windows 6.0, either on disk or by email to: digital.tv@dcita.gov.au
Persons providing a submission should indicate clearly whether any aspect of their submission should not be made public. Submissions will be considered in the preparation of a review report, which will be tabled by the Minister in both Houses of Parliament when completed.
Further information on this review can be obtained by contacting Caroline Joske on telephone (02) 6271 1621, or fax (02) 6271 1700 or TTY (02) 6271 1224
ISSUES PAPER
Review of Captioning Standards
BACKGROUND
The captioning of television programs allows the audio component of a television broadcast to be displayed as text on the screen to assist deaf and hearing impaired viewers to follow the program. There are two types of captioning: closed and open. In analog television closed captioning is encoded in the television signal as teletext data on line 21 of the vertical blanking interval. The signal may be decoded by an add-on teletext decoder or a teletext capable television on teletext page 8-0-1. Closed captioning provides text for the spoken component of a program and may include descriptions of sounds, laughter and music, particularly for pre-recorded programs. Closed captions are normally positioned at the bottom of the screen beneath the speaker and timed to appear synchronously with speech. They may also be coloured to indicate who is speaking.
Open captions include all the information that closed captions contain but are permanently displayed on the screen and do not require a decoder. Subtitles, although similar to open captions in that a decoder is not required, only provide text for the dialogue and do not provide additional audio information.
A recent survey conducted by the Australian Caption Centre found that total closed captioned broadcasts increased by seven per cent in 1997 to 4,866 hours. It indicated that much of this increase was attributable to the Seven Network, which increased its output of captioned material by 52 per cent. The survey also found that approximately 45 per cent of programs broadcast between 6 pm and 10:30 pm on the three commercial networks and the ABC carried closed captioning.
Current Regulatory Arrangements
Under s.123 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (BSA), commercial broadcasting licensees are required to develop, in consultation with the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA), codes of practice that are to apply to the operations of the industry. The Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations (FACTS) Code of Practice provides guidance to the industry on the captioning of programs for the deaf and hearing impaired. The Code commits licensees to endeavour to increase the amount of closed captioned programming, in consultation with organisations representing hearing impaired and deaf viewers.
The ABC Code of Practice commits the ABC to transmitting addresses to the nation and events of national significance with closed captioning, and to endeavour to increase the amount of closed captioning as resources permit.
While the SBS Code of Practice does not specifically address closed captioning, SBS does provide closed captioning for its nightly 6:30 pm World News and World News at Nine, broadcast Monday to Friday. SBS also considers that the significant number of programs it provides with subtitles make these programs accessible to the deaf and hearing impaired.
Review of Part 4 of Schedule 4 to the BSA
Under subclause 59(1)(de) to Schedule 4 of the BSA the Minister must cause a review to be conducted before 1 January 2000 of whether any amendments should be made to Part 4 of the Schedule, including the captioning requirements.
The review will consider other identified matters, including high definition television (HDTV), broadcasting transmission standards and datacasting standards. Regulations must be made in relation to HDTV and closed captioning. Regulations may be made into broadcasting transmission standards and datacasting standards.
The legislation provides that the provisions under Part 4 will have no effect until:
- a number of reviews, including the review on whether any amendments should be made to Part 4 of the Schedule, have been completed and presented to Parliament;
- a resolution in relation to Part 4 has been passed by each House of the Parliament; and
- a Proclamation, made in accordance with the resolution of both Houses, has fixed a date for Part 4 to come into effect.
Review of Captioning Standards
Clause 38 of Schedule 4 of the BSA provides for the determination of standards in relation to the captioning of television programs for the deaf and hearing impaired.
The Explanatory Memorandum noted that:
"It is intended that these standards would be required to be observed by free to air television broadcasters in relation to programs transmitted in both analog and digital mode. The free to air television broadcasters will not, however, be required to observe captioning standards provided for in the regulations before the first occasion on or after 1 January 2001 on which they broadcast television programs in digital mode."
The legislation prescribes that the standards must require holders of commercial broadcasting licences and national broadcasters to meet specified goals or targets in relation to the extent to which television programs, or specified kinds of programs, are captioned.
Clause 38 sets out two primary objectives in relation to the determination of regulations for captioning:
- that, as far as is practicable, commercial and national television broadcasters should provide a captioning service for television programs transmitted during prime viewing hours (defined by clause 38 as 6 pm to 10:30 pm); and
- that, as far as is practicable, broadcasters should provide a captioning service for television news programs, and television current affairs programs, transmitted outside prime viewing hours.
Similar captioning requirements were recently introduced in the UK and the USA to provide access for the deaf and hearing impaired to television services. A summary of these measures is at Appendix 1.
Scope of the Review into Captioning Standards
The review will examine and advise the Minister on the goals or targets and types of television programs to be specified under the standards, the nature of any exemptions to be allowed under the standards, whether any amendments to clause 38 are required to accommodate the outcomes of the review, and any other related matters. The review will focus primarily on matters identified under clause 38 and will not canvass issues associated with the captioning of subscription television broadcasting services, videos, advertising or sponsorship.
The review will also consider the determination of prime viewing hours under sub-clause 38(5), and whether another time or times should be prescribed for the purposes of the standards. Given the legislation refers simply to captioning, the review will need to consider whether closed and/or open captioning should be specified in the standards.
The review will have regard to the effect on broadcasters of specifying goals or targets and types of programs, the practicality of providing captioning for all programs in prime time and at other times, and the benefits provided to deaf and hearing impaired viewers from the captioning of programs. Recognising that the resources available for captioning may vary between broadcasters, the review will also consider whether it is practicable to apply uniform standards to all broadcasters, or whether, for example, different obligations should apply in relation to licensees serving regional, solus and remote licence areas. The review will also consider whether different standards should apply to national broadcasting services.
While not specifically addressed in the Digital Conversion Act, the opportunity has also been taken to canvass issues on the provision of enhanced television to another relatively disadvantaged group in the community, the blind and vision impaired. The possibility of providing audio description for blind and visually impaired viewers was noted by the Environment, Recreation, Communications and the Arts (ERCA) Senate Committee Inquiry into the Television Broadcasting Services (Digital Conversion) Bill 1998. The Committee's final report recommended that the issue of audio description for digital television be referred to the Consultative Group on Digital Television. The Committee further recommended that, after consultation with user and consumer groups and industry representatives, the Group should report on the matter to the Parliament.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 establishes a legislative framework for eliminating discrimination against persons on the grounds of disability. The object at s.3 of the Act is to eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination against persons on the grounds of disability in the area of the provision of services. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) is currently conducting an inquiry into access to closed captioning on television broadcast and program services in Australia. HREOC's view is that broadcasting services are required to be equally accessible to people with a disability, including people who are deaf or have a hearing impairment, except to the extent that this would impose unjustifiable hardship on the services.
It is not intended for this review to duplicate the work of the HREOC inquiry but to consider the captioning of free-to-air television services in the context of the legislative requirements set out in Schedule 4 of the BSA.
ISSUES
It should be noted that there is a degree of overlap between a number of the matters raised in this issues paper. In particular, the question of the phased introduction of the captioning standards overlaps a number of other implementation and standards issues, including the exemption of programs from the standards and the possibility of increasing the amount of captioning above that currently provided for under cl. 38(4).
To assist consideration of these interrelated matters, the following discussion firstly addresses questions related to the practicability of implementing the captioning standards and the possible phased introduction of the standards. This is followed by a discussion on other more discreet issues, such as exemption from the standards, and presentational issues.
The introduction of practicable captioning requirements
The legislation anticipates that, on the commencement of broadcasting in digital mode, broadcasters may experience difficulties in providing fully captioned programs. The Explanatory Memorandum to clause 38 of the Digital Conversion Bill notes that:
"The captioning standards requirement has been formulated in a way which takes into account possible practical difficulties in providing a captioning service for all program material (eg. television programs transmitted 'live to air')."
Accordingly, the legislation requires that the standards be directed towards ensuring that the objectives set out at sub-clause 38(4) are met "as far as is practicable". This allows the standards, within reasonably practicable limits, to have regard to the timing of the introduction of captioning, exemptions from the captioning requirements and the form which captioning takes.
Timed introduction of captioning
The legislation provides that the regulations may determine a reasonably practicable time limit after which the objectives set out in sub-clause 38(4) are to be met. In considering whether such a limit should be imposed, and if so, what may be a reasonable limit, any relevant surrounding circumstances need to be taken into account. These may include technical or financial difficulties which preclude captioning being done before a certain time. For example, difficulties could include a shortage of stenocaptioning services, the non-availability of any necessary equipment and any unreasonable costs that a broadcaster may incur in meeting the captioning requirements.
A number of approaches could be adopted for the possible phased introduction of the captioning. One approach would be to discriminate between different types of program. For example, captioning could initially be introduced for programming which is provided with captioning files and then later extended to pre-produced network programming and live-to-air programs. This approach could also accommodate arrangements for the broadcast of archival or other material that was produced before the introduction of the captioning requirements.
Alternatively, captioning could be phased-in by requiring broadcasters to increase, over a certain period, the number of hours of captioned material broadcast each week, with broadcasters left to decide on which programs to caption.
A reasonable starting point for considering all possible approaches to a phased introduction is the amount of captioned programming available to viewers prior to the commencement of transmission in digital mode. In 1997 broadcasters closed captioned between 28 and 57 per cent of programs broadcast in prime viewing hours. FACTS' submission to the current HREOC Inquiry indicates that over 50 percent of programming in prime time is now closed captioned. There is an expectation that, with the introduction of broadcasting in digital mode, the amount of programming available with captioning will match, if not increase that presently provided by broadcasters in analog mode.
Should the regulations make provision for a phased introduction of captioning, and if so, on what basis should a phase-in of the standards proceed?
Exemption of Programs from the Captioning Standards
The Digital Conversion Act makes provision for the standards to exempt programs from the captioning requirements based on whether, taking into account all relevant matters, the effort required to caption certain programs is unreasonable. The Explanatory Memorandum provides "live to air" as one example of programming which may possibly encounter practical difficulties in captioning. Other types of programming may face similar difficulties. However, there is a clear presumption that broadcasters must strive to meet the requirements set out in the standards.
For the purposes of the standards, it may be convenient to clearly define or establish a test of "practicability", thereby providing broadcasters with a degree of certainty in relation to exemptions from the standards and to facilitate the orderly planning of station program schedules. Relevant matters could include technical, financial and resource impediments to captioning such as the availability of stenocaptioners, time constraints from production to broadcast, the cost of captioning relative to the benefit provided to viewers, and the availability of the necessary technical resources.
One option would be for the standards to identify a specific class of programs for which is it not considered practicable to provide captioning. Program genres that have obtained exemption from captioning requirements in the UK and USA include non-English programming and non-vocal music programming.
Alternatively, the standards could provide criteria against which to assess whether it is practicable to caption a program, based on technical, time, cost or other constraints. Programs which met all or a certain percentage of the criteria would be exempted from the captioning requirements. The criteria could include matters such as technical constraints in captioning an event or program (eg live-to-air), the availability of stenocaptioning services, the practicability of captioning live feeds sourced from a third party and any unreasonable cost burden that may be imposed on a broadcaster in captioning a particular program. In relation to cost, a similar arrangement to that operating for program suppliers in the USA could apply, whereby a cap of two per cent of annual gross revenue has been set as the maximum amount required to be spent on captioning in any one year.
Submitters may wish to comment on the desirability of any exemption provisions insofar as the imposition of unduly onerous captioning requirements may create a disincentive for broadcasters to schedule particular types of programming during prime viewing hours. This could potentially disadvantage both hearing and deaf and hearing impaired viewers.
Comments are sought on the nature and extent to which exemptions from the captioning requirements should be allowed under the regulations and the means by which exemptions may be granted.
Would it be appropriate for the regulations to adopt a similar system to that operating in the USA which places an expenditure cap on captioning based on the total revenue of a station/program provider?
What test of practicability can be best reconciled with Parliament's intent that captioning be provided for programs during prime viewing hours and for news and current affairs programs transmitted outside these hours?
Programming in languages other than English and subtitling
The review will need to advise on the captioning of programs that use a language other than English, including foreign language news broadcasts that are nominally subject to the requirement for all news and current affairs programs to be captioned. An associated issue on which advice will also need to be provided is whether programs in a language other than English, and which carry subtitles, should be captioned.
The provision of captioning for foreign language programs, in the language of broadcast, may pose considerable technical, logistical or financial problems for broadcasters due to the multitude of languages that may potentially require captioning. This problem would be expected to be exacerbated where a news broadcast in a foreign language is provided live or is slightly time shifted. In the USA, all foreign language broadcasts, other than Spanish the second major spoken language, are exempt from the captioning requirements. The FCC considers that applying such a requirement would impose an unreasonable economic burden on broadcasters. A similar arrangement, exempting non-English programming, could be contemplated for the captioning standards in Australia.
Subtitles provide an English translation of dialogue spoken in a language other than English as text at the bottom of the screen, thereby allowing an audience which only speaks English to access the program. To a certain degree, it coincidentally provides access to programming for the deaf and hearing impaired. However, unlike captions, subtitling does not provide viewers with information about sounds, music and other aural features, nor does it position the text on the screen under the speaker to aid interpretation.
It has been suggested that, instead of using subtitles, open captioning could adopted for foreign language programs, thereby making the programs more accessible to the deaf and hearing impaired through the provision of additional aural information.
The Digital Conversion Act does not specify whether closed captioning, open captioning or both are acceptable for the purposes of the standards. While neither the Digital Conversion Act nor the Explanatory Memorandum provide guidance on the method of captioning, the Minister's second reading speech noted that:
"The Bill also provides for closed captioning standards to be set in regulations, and the Government's intention is that appropriate prime time services and non-prime time news and current affairs should be captioned".
Comments are sought on what, if any, captioning requirements should apply to non-English language programs, including those provided with subtitles in English. Should provision be made for closed and open captioning in the standards?
Non-metropolitan broadcasters
Regional broadcasters may face resource, technical and other constraints that may affect their ability to provide the same amount of captioned programming as metropolitan services. For example, commercial broadcasters in equalised markets produce a number of local news bulletins that each address the information needs of particular areas within a licence area. Requiring each bulletin to be captioned may place an undue burden on a regional broadcasters in relation to technical and financial resources.
At the same time, the fact that most regional programming is sourced from the networks, and would be expected to carry captioning in accordance with standards, needs to be factored into any consideration of whether different captioning standards should apply to regional broadcasters. Further information on the practicability of captioning local programs in non-metropolitan markets would assist in informing decisions on this matter.
Are there any technical, resource or other difficulties particular to non-metropolitan broadcasters that would justify different standards in relation to program exemptions or the phase in of the standards ? How would the different standards be determined?
Other possible constraints
There may be other technical, resource or other difficulties that particular broadcasters may encounter which could justify different standards in relation to exemptions or the phase in of the standards.
Under paragraph 59(1)(dc) of Schedule 4 a separate review is to be undertaken to consider the extent to which any amendments of laws of the Commonwealth are required in order to allow a national broadcaster, during the simulcast period for a coverage area, to use multi-channel transmission capacity to broadcast television programs in digital mode. If as a result of the review multi-channel transmission is permitted, there may be a case for these services to be similarly subject to the captioning standards. While the multi-channel review has yet to completed, submitters may care to comment on the captioning requirements that should apply if the national broadcasters are allowed to provide multi-channel services.
Are there any difficulties, other than those already raised, that broadcasters may face which would constrain their ability to meet the captioning standards?
If allowed, what captioning requirements should apply to multi-channel services provided by national broadcasting services?
Attainment of Specified Goals or Targets
Sub-clause 38(2) states that the standards must require licensees and national broadcasters to meet specified goals or targets in relation to the extent to which television programs, or specified kinds of television programs, are captioned for the deaf and hearing impaired.
In this context the following issues will need to be addressed:
Determination of prime viewing hours: Sub-clause 38(5) provides for the hours between 6 pm and 10:30 pm, unless otherwise prescribed, to be considered prime viewing hours and therefore subject to the requirement for all programming to carry closed captioning. It may be desirable to prescribe an extended period for the purposes of the standard, or for other periods to be incorporated into the definition of prime viewing hours, particularly where such programming could be considered to have particular relevance for a deaf and hearing impaired audience. Extending prime viewing hours would allow deaf and hearing impaired viewers to access a greater and more diverse range of programming (eg pre-news game shows and children's programs).
Should the period of prime viewing hours be extended? Should another time or times be prescribed as prime viewing hours for the purposes of the standard?
Increasing the amount of captioned programming: While the legislation requires programs in prime viewing hours to be captioned, there is no specific target for captioning outside this time, other than for news and current affairs programs.
However, in the future there may be potential for the hours of captioned programming provided by broadcasters to increase above that currently specified in the Schedule. It would be expected that technical developments, such as the wider application of voice recognition technology and the increased volume of programming requiring captioning would lead to a fall in the average cost of captioning a program. In considering any increase in captioning it may also be appropriate to also consider the extent to which viewers access captioned programs and the availability of receivers and set top boxes capable of displaying captions.
With the introduction of mandatory captioning requirements in the United States and the UK, it is expected that the amount of captioned material available to Australian broadcasters from overseas will increase. This ready source of captioned material could potentially allow broadcasters to make a greater commitment to providing programming which is accessible to the deaf and hearing impaired. (Appendix 1 provides background on overseas captioning requirements). Given these developments, there may be a case for requiring broadcasters to increase the amount of captioning, perhaps in line with overseas standards and program availability.
Australian broadcasters already use and convert caption files sourced from overseas broadcasters. However, there may be particular technical or other difficulties associated with converting and using these files which warrant consideration in the determination of the standards. This may encompass the compatibility of technical standards, ease of conversion, the transcription of programs from analog to digital and from digital to digital using digital teletext and bitmap captioning, and the display of captioning on digital receivers and on analog receivers using set top boxes.
Should the regulations specify that the number of hours of captioned material be increased immediately or over time, above that currently specified under clause 38? If so, what time frame would be appropriate for such an increase? Are there any technical or other difficulties associated with the use of captioning files sourced from overseas which would constrain their use in Australia?
Specifying types of programs: The legislation already specifies that all programs in prime viewing hours and news and current affairs programs outside these hours are to be captioned. However, it may be desirable for the purposes of the standard to specify particular types of programs, other than news and current affairs, to be provided with captioning outside prime viewing hours. These could include educational programming, Australian content and programs that are likely to attract an audience that has a high proportion of deaf and hearing impaired viewers.
In specifying particular types of programs, regard could be given to matters such as the demand from the deaf and hearing impaired audience for certain programs to be captioned, the availability of content in other media and the provision of a diverse range of programming.
There is no specific requirement for Australian programs, other than those broadcast, during prime viewing hours, to carry captioning. While the majority of Australian drama in 1998 carried captions programs such as Good Guys Bad Guys, House Gang, Breakers, Twisted Tales and Pacific Drive did not.
Given that one object (at s.3(e)) of the BSA is to promote the role of broadcasting services in developing and reflecting a sense of Australian identity, character and cultural diversity and that the BSA makes specific provision for the ABA to determine a standard for the Australian content of programs, it may be desirable to specify a target or goal for the captioning of Australian content. This could specify a target for the captioning of Australian programs generally and/or require specified types of Australian programs, such as drama, documentary and children's (C classified) to carry captions.
It may also be desirable to specify other types of programs to be subject to the captioning requirements, particularly programs that attract an audience which has a high proportion of deaf and hearing impaired viewers. For example, this could include programs which primarily attract older viewers who, as a group, are more likely to be deaf or have a hearing impairment.
Finally, while not strictly programming, consideration could also be given to specifying in the standards emergency announcements relating to safety of life. This would apply primarily to announcements and warnings relating to natural disasters including bushfires, floods and cyclones.
What goals or targets should the standards include in relation to the captioning of specified types of television programs. Should these targets include a requirement for the captioning of Australian, educational and children's programs or other program types? Should the standards provide for the captioning emergency announcements?
Definition of news and current affairs programs: The legislation requires that, as far as practicable, news and current affairs programs outside prime viewing hours be captioned. It is expected that the standards would include a functional definition of what constitutes a news or current affairs program. Since the legislation requires licensees to caption news and current affairs programs, rather than programs which may contain elements of news or current affairs, the definition adopted in the standards should clearly distinguish between these program types.
In relation to news, the standards will need to adequately differentiate between programs that genuinely report on the facts of any recent event or situation and those which, for example, merely provide topical rather than newsworthy information or that is presented as "reality programming". The standards would need to recognise that genuine news programming can consist of a mix of reporting, entertainment, opinion and human interest and that it may not be appropriate for some programs, such as Today, that incorporate similar material and which provide news as a scheduled bulletin, to be considered in their entirety as news or current affairs programming.
Consideration should also be given to the captioning of interstitial news breaks of short duration, including those that occur outside prime viewing hours. However, the imposition of such a requirement may need to be balanced with the possibility that it may create a disincentive for broadcasters to provide this type of programming.
In 1991 the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal adopted a program standard for current affairs programs which defined a current affairs program as "a program focussing on social, economic or political issues of immediate relevance to the community including interviews and commentaries dealing in depth with news items" The current Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations (FACTS) Code of Practice has adopted a similar definition in relation to current affairs programming, which may be suitable for the purposes of the captioning standards.
What is an appropriate definition for the standards to adopt in relation to news and current affairs programs?
How should the standards treat interstitial news?
Presentational Issues
It may be appropriate for standards to be determined in relation to the quality and accuracy of closed captioning, including matters such as general grammar and presentation, timing and reduction, positioning, formatting, and whether captions created using the electronic news room method are acceptable. This would ensure that viewers are presented with a common captioning format across all commercial and national television services. The Australian Captioning Centre has advised that it has developed a style manual for captioning which it has shared with other captioning facilities. The stylistic conventions adopted in the manual could potentially provide the basis for a standard related to presentation.
Establishing a technical standard in relation to the quality and accuracy of closed captioning would, amongst other things, need to have regard to any captioning or technical standards developed overseas, in particular in the USA and UK, and the extent to which overseas captioning information is acceptable and appropriate for an Australian audience.
Other than matters covered under the FACTS and ABC codes, decisions about the presentation of captions, including the quality and accuracy of captions, are currently a matter for individual broadcasters. There may be a case for continuing current industry practice and the self-regulatory arrangements in relation to the quality and accuracy of captioning and other presentational issues. A continuation of these arrangements may be the best means by which to provide a common and acceptable captioning format, which is also responsive to changes in technology and preferences.
Comments are invited on whether the regulations should determine a standard in relation to the quality and accuracy of closed captioning. What would be the scope of such a standard?
Specification of a standard or application of a code of practice?
While the primary purpose of this issues paper is to seek comment on the development and determination of captioning standards through regulations under clause 38 of Schedule 4 to the BSA, a more general point arises about whether certain captioning matters, other than those expressly provided for under the Act, would be best handled under the relevant broadcasting codes of practice.
The codes of practice for FACTS and ABC currently contain a commitment to increase the amount of programming carrying closed captions. In recent years, this has led to an increase in the amount of closed captioned material available to deaf and hearing impaired viewers. Codes of practice may therefore offer an alternative means to implement certain outcomes of the review. Codes could potentially include matters such as the quality and accuracy of captioning and the definition of news and current affairs. Readers may therefore wish to consider the issues raised in this paper with regard to whether codes of practice may be an appropriate means to implement certain outcomes of the review.
Would it be appropriate for certain captioning matters to be regulated under the respective broadcasting codes of practice? What matters could be incorporated into codes of practice, and what matters should be determined by regulation?
Audio Description of Television for the Blind and Vision Impaired
BACKGROUND
The conversion to digital technology provides an opportunity to consider the delivery of enhanced broadcasting services to viewers with disabilities, including audio description for the blind and visually impaired. Current regulatory arrangements do not require broadcasters to provide audio description for their services nor do the industry or ABC codes of practice provide any guidance to broadcasters on this matter.
As noted earlier, the possibility of providing audio description for blind and visually impaired viewers was raised by the ERCA Senate Committee inquiry into the Television Broadcasting Services (Digital Conversion) Bill 1998. The Committee's consideration was also, in part, informed by the objects of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, which seeks to eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination against persons on the grounds of disability.
Appendix 2 provides background on overseas developments in providing access to television services by the blind and vision impaired.
ISSUES
What is audio description?
Audio description is the means by which blind or visually impaired people can be assisted to follow television programs. Audio description involves a vocal narrative of action, surroundings, facial expressions, body language and any other non-auditory detail that could enhance the viewer's understanding of the program. This information is delivered in between dialogue or during gaps in commentary.
Limited audio description of television is currently provided by Radio for the Print Handicapped (RPH) throughout Australia, including 3RPH Melbourne which provides audio description for a television series shown on Channel 9 and regularly describes international tennis tournaments and other sporting events.
Technical developments facilitating audio description
The introduction of digital television, and the widespread use of digital processing and signalling in other communications and data devices, may facilitate the provision of low cost audio description services. The multiple audio channel capacity of digital broadcasting will potentially open up the possibility of broadcasting an audio description on a common signal. There appear to be no fundamental technical obstacles to delivering audio descriptions.
The imposition of audio description requirements in other countries may also lead to the provision of a greater volume of audio captioned material in the future.
The ABA's Specialist Group on Digital Television Broadcasting noted in its final report in 1997 that:
"DTTB's multichannel sound delivery capability might also be used in innovative ways to provide further support to persons with disabilities. One suggestion has been made that audio description services could be provided in conjunction with some types of television programs. The precise need, demand and costs associated with such services have not been defined. At this stage the Specialist Group has noted the potential application for further consideration by service providers because they are not likely to be constrained by the system decisions."
Provision of audio description on digital television
Television plays an important role in providing entertainment, education and information and conveying the shared experience of all Australians. Accordingly, there may be a case for television broadcasters to provide the blind and vision impaired a greater level access to their services through the provision of audio description.
Regulations and standards or codes of practice could be used to facilitate an increase in the amount of television programming accompanied by audio description. As noted above, the enhanced technical capabilities of digital television, in particular improved integration and functionality between transmission and reception equipment, provide an opportunity to consider the provision of audio description.
Increasing the amount of audio description could be achieved either by implementing a standard under legislation or through incorporating guidelines in the respective codes of practice. Adopting a standard has the advantage of creating a binding requirement on broadcasters to provide a set amount of audio captioning. However, a standard may not provide the necessary flexibility to accommodate technical and other developments over time, or reflect the preferences of the blind and vision impaired community in relation to the types and amount of programming which is provided with audio description.
Unlike a standard, the inclusion of guidelines for audio description as a code of practice would not create a binding requirement on broadcasters. Guidelines would most likely reflect the current arrangements for closed captioning under the FACTS Code which simply encourages broadcasters to endeavour to increase the amount of programming carrying captioning.
As noted by the ABA's Specialist Group, there is a need to identify the precise demand and costs associated with audio description services. The blind and vision impaired community may have particular needs in relation to the types of programs provided with audio description. These could include programs with content which is not provided in alternative media, such as Australian drama and documentaries. To assess the practicability of providing audio description, a clearer understanding is also required of the costs and any technical or other constraints of providing a such service.
Comments are sought on whether broadcasters in Australia should be required to provide a specified amount of television programming with audio description. If so, should such a requirement be imposed legislatively or incorporated in industry codes of practice? What types of programs are suitable for audio description and what programs would the blind and visually impaired community like to see carry audio descriptions?
Comments are invited on the technical, financial, resource and other implications of digital television services providing an audio description service for the blind and vision impaired.
APPENDIX 1
International Developments in Closed Captioning
United States of America
In the USA, the passage of the Telecommunications Act 1996 which granted channel capacity to broadcasters to provide television services in the digital mode, was accompanied by the introduction of additional community service obligations. Recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) orders have imposed a requirement on broadcasters (and other providers of audio-visual programming) to provide closed captioning on 100 per cent of new non-exempt program material, other than that broadcast between 2 am and 6 am. This requirement will be implemented gradually over an eight year transition period ending on 1 January 2006, which coincides with the phase out of analog television services. The FCC has also ordered that 75 per cent of programs produced prior to its ruling must be captioned at the end of the transition period.
The FCC may exempt programs from the captioning requirement where it would be:
- economically burdensome to the provider or owner of such programming;
- inconsistent with contracts; or
- result in an undue burden, being a significant difficulty or expense.
The FCC has exempted several specific classes of programs for which a closed captioning requirement would be economically burdensome including, non-English programming (other than Spanish), primarily textual programming, interstitial announcements, promotional programming and public service announcements, advertising, certain locally-produced and distributed programming and non-vocal musical programming. Furthermore, the FCC rules also exempt any video program provider from the closed captioning requirements where the provider has annual gross revenues of less than $3 million. The rules do not require any video programming provider to spend more than two per cent of annual gross revenue on closed captioning.
In relation to undue burden, the FCC indicated that it would consider:
- the nature and cost of the closed captions for the programming;
- the impact on the operation of the provider or program owner;
- the financial resources of the provider or program owner; and
- the type of operations of the provider or program owner.
United Kingdom
The UK Broadcasting Act 1996 requires that at least 50 percent of non-exempt programming broadcast each week must be captioned from the tenth anniversary of the introduction of a digital service. This 50 percent target is to be phased in, with five percent yearly increases over the ten year period.
A recent Independent Television Commission (ITC) order requires Channel 3 to increase its hours of captioning up to 80% in 2004. In turn, Channel 4 has agreed from 1999 to match the increases imposed on Channel 3.
Advertisements are exempt from the captioning requirements and there are lower target levels for live programming which is considered more difficult to caption. The ITC has decided that the minimum requirements for captioning in relation to live programming should be 25 percent which will be phased in over a ten year period.
The ITC has determined that its captioning requirement may be met by closed subtitling, as for example, on teletext, or by open subtitling, appearing on-screen such as with non-English language programs.
APPENDIX 2
International Developments in Providing Access to Television for the Blind and Vision Impaired
United Kingdom
The Broadcasting Act 1990 introduced a requirement that, from the tenth anniversary of the date of commencement of a digital program service, at least ten percent of non-excluded programs are to be accompanied by audio description for the blind and vision impaired. The Independent Television Commission (ITC) has set interim targets to be met in the ten years leading up to the tenth anniversary of the introduction of digital services.
The requirement to provide audio description only affect the digital services on Channels 3, 4 and 5 and do not encompass digital broadcasting of BBC1 and BBC2.
The ITC will review its audio description code every two years and reserves the right to make changes at any time, after consultation with stakeholders.
United States of America
There are no legislative requirements for broadcasters to provide audio description of programs in the USA. Some audio description is being provided on the Public Broadcasting Service and the Turner Classic Movie Channel.
In 1997 the USA Administration established the Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligations for Digital Television Broadcasting. Its role is to advise the Administration in determining appropriate public interest obligations in light of opportunities made available by new technologies. One matter the Committee is considering is audio description which it is expected to report on in late 1998.