Candidates in the Maryland gubernatorial campaigns created some distress amongst viewers when they recently aired their television campaign ads without any closed captioning. These ads occurred during a forum hosted by The National Federation for the Blind that focused on employment, housing, and transportation for individuals with disabilities. When questioned as to why there were no captions, Lt. Gov. Brown told people that cost was a factor and that his campaign lacked the necessary funds. Another candidate was unaware as to why there were no captions but agreed that it was something that needed to be changed in the future.
This failure to provide closed captioning is not limited to Maryland. Candidates running in Pennsylvania were also accused of not captioning their ads, and thus not reaching a large percentage of voters. Technically, the FCC does not require these ads to be closed captioned but these candidates would certainly benefit from providing closed captioning in order to spread their message and reach all potential voters.
Do you have a video that needs closed captioning? Or do you have any questions regarding FCC regulations, different types of closed captioning, multi-language and translation services, or potential file delivery options? For more information contact Aberdeen Broadcast Services.
