It has been a year since the FCC published updated guidelines pertaining to the closed captioning requirements for online video clips. The notice specified that excerpts of full-length video programming captioned for broadcast in the U.S. and posted via the video programming provider or distributor's website or app would need to have captions present.

This only applied to single excerpts or single “straight-lift clips” from a full-length program.

In that announcement, the FCC also marked January 1, 2017, as the date that this law will extend to “montages,” or edits composed of multiple single excerpts (“straight-lift clips”). For example, an hour-long talk show that aired on television may appear as multiple segments on the web afterward – say, abridged interviews of each of the guests. Those clips, all stemming from the original full-length program, will now be expected to be captioned.

This also warrants a reminder that Internet closed captioning rules only apply if the video programming was shown on television in the U.S. with captions. Consumer-generated media (e.g., podcasts, home videos, or tutorials) shown on the Internet are not required to be captioned unless, of course, they were shown on TV with captions.

On Deck

Another deadline for Internet video clips will be stepping up to the plate in mid-2017. On July 1, 2017, video clips of live and near-live television programming (such as news or sporting events) will need to observe the following turnaround times for posting online with captions:

• For clips of live programming, up to a 12-hour delay is permitted in posting a captioned clip after the programming has been shown on TV.
• For clips of near-live programming, up to an 8-hour delay is permitted in posting a captioned clip after the programming has been shown on TV.

Currently, these are the only dates remaining on the FCC’s initial 2012 release of Internet video programming requirements. We wouldn’t bet on this being the last.

The full guide can be found on the fcc.gov website here: Captioning of Internet Video Programming.

Repurposing a caption file for the web can be as simple as reformatting and a quick file conversion. After all, the videos have already been transcribed. It’s just a matter of matching your video player’s specifications for web play-out. To learn more about getting your Internet clips compliant, please contact us.