Streamers tell CRTC closed captioning on all programming not feasible

While providing closed captioning on all programming for the deaf and hard of hearing is a laudable goal, it is not achievable, several streaming companies have told the CRTC. The commission is currently looking at what guidelines should be put in place. There was lively debate with over 50 interventions from interested stakeholders. Hayu streaming service, a division of Universal Pictures Subscription Television Ltd., shows unscripted reality programs on its platform. It says it currently offers 90 per cent closed captioning. “A 100 per cent accuracy rate is something all online undertakings should strive for, however, this may not always be achievable,” the firm writes. “In the context of the reality TV genre, for example, characters often talk fast or across one another.” The commission asked if companies should be required to submit regular reports on the efforts to improve their accuracy. Hayu said if that were the case, it should be every two years in order to ease the burden on smaller entities. Streamers should only archive programs for one month to 42 days to handle complaints, the firm averred. That would align with regulations in other countries. Having shows in the library for 30 to 42 days after final broadcast should be enough time to process complaints, Hayu maintains. Sports streaming service DAZN also says the universality aim cannot be reached. “DAZN supports closed captioning for its own content, such as DAZN Originals, and on third-party content when it is made available to DAZN by the content rights owner,” it wrote. “However, our overall ability to obtain closed captioned programming, and to make it available for live programming, is limited due to technical challenges associated with live captioning.” Bragg Communications Inc., parent company of Eastlink, operates a TVE service, an undertaking which allows subscribers to access Eastlink coverage on computers, mobile devices, and similar equipment. It says it cannot reach 100 per cent accuracy. “If the commission were to impose a 100 per cent closed captioning requirement on BDU TVE platforms (or a similar minimum captioning threshold), our only options would be to remove programming services with uncaptioned content from our TVE platform or, potentially, shut down our TVE platform (to avoid liability for unexpected gaps in closed captioning on third-party programming services.),” the company said. Apple Canada Inc. called for a “light-touch approach to regulation,” and repeated that live programming is not always able to be closed captioned. It does not want the regulations to be decided by subscriber numbers or revenues, as traditional broadcasters are ruled. The firm argues that smaller players could have an easier time since they have much less content to caption. Taking the opposite view is the Independent Broadcast Group. The consortium of 14 channels argues that money should be the determining factor. “IBG/GDI believes that this requirement should be revenue based,” it writes, using its initials in both official languages. “The commission has employed a general threshold of $10 million in annual revenue for registration requirements for online services (whether operating alone or as part of a group), and $2 million annual revenue threshold as the basic exemption threshold under the Broadcasting Fees Regulations.” CBC/Radio-Canada pointed out that breaking news and news conferences do not always lend themselves to closed captioning. Conventional broadcasters are required to file annual reports for English services and every two years for French closed captioning service. “If the commission determines that online streaming undertakings should be required to assess the accuracy of their closed captioning on a regular basis, then the scope and frequency of such assessments for online streaming undertakings should be the same as the requirements for traditional television broadcasters,” the crown corporation stated. Contrasting between original programming and third-party content is important to Telus Corp. “As the CRTC implements a closed captioning policy for online undertakings, Telus urges the CRTC to continue to differentiate between entities that control or create programs, and those that aggregate third-party services and pass through available closed captioning,” the western telecom asserted. Its competitor BCE Inc. had three prime recommendations in its submission. “First, we support mandatory closed captioning for pre-recorded programs,” Bell wrote. “Second, we support the development of appropriate closed captioning targets for live programming. Finally, we believe that the commission should exempt websites that are primarily alphanumeric from any closed captioning requirements.” Ad-supported video-on-demand channel Tubi Inc, has been operating in Canada since 2015, with a relaunch in 2019. The Fox Corp. subsidiary warns that too much regulation could harm it. “Imposing stringent closed captioning requirements would significantly increase operating costs for Tubi and would make it even more challenging for Tubi to continue making investments in its content library for the Canadian video ecosystem, including producing, acquiring, and showcasing Canadian content in English, French and Indigenous languages.” Rogers Communications Inc. is worried about the library of programming its media division contains. “It may be very challenging for online streaming undertakings to ‘catch up’ on uncaptioned library content, which in some cases can amount to thousands of hours of content stretching back years,” it said. Corus Entertainment Inc. made the same argument stating that the requirements should not be retroactive. It also calls for using the $10 million threshold as the standard for regulation. Amazon Inc., whose Prime Video is an online streaming undertaking (OSU), also called for restraint. “The commission should not require OSUs to provide closed captioning for 100 per cent of English- and French-language pre-recorded or live programs,” it stated. “Any requirement for closed captioning for live programming or pre-recorded programs in the catalogue that an OSU curates should only apply on a prospective basis (i.e., 2026 onwards) to programs an OSU or its affiliates create that are originally produced in one of Canada’s official languages.” The commission should go slow, according to Netflix Inc. “The implementation of any such measures should be incremental and proportional,” the global streamer says. “Such an approach would be consistent with the Act which requires that the Canadian broadcasting system should be regulated and supervised in a flexible manner which takes into account the variety of broadcasting undertakings to which the Act applies.” Aligning regulations with international rules was one of the recommendations of Roku Inc. It says the United States regulations should serve as a template for such standards. It also calls for a light-touch approach. YouTube, a division of Google LLC, says it should not be subject to any regulations as its content is uploaded by users — it does not commission original works. “YouTube simply accepts content in the form and with the attributes the creator and/or uploader elects to provide,” it asserts. “We make lessons available to encourage creators and content providers to make captioning available.” The Canadian Media Producers Association suggests encouraging, rather than mandating, captioning rules. The Forum for Research and Policy in Communications chided the regulator for not defining its terms. “While it is true the commission requested information about online broadcasters captioning practices, the CRTC left the collection and aggregation of this information to each individual intervener,” the group said. “Unless one is to assume that the CRTC has not undertaken this task itself, why could the CRTC not have provided its own summary of this information?” The Canadian Communication Systems Alliance wants a gradual approach to regulation. It argues that for the first five years, streamers who draw one million or more viewers per day should be required to report to the commission. For the subsequent five years, the threshold would drop to 500,000 viewers each day. One of those in opposition to the established players is Accessible Media Inc. The company, which broadcasts material to disabled individuals, was forthright in its position. “Closed captioning programming is the standard in the Canadian broadcasting system, not an exception,” it stated. “Online streaming services do not need special treatment.” Backing it up is the Disability Screen Office. “The DSO sees no reason that there should be any difference in the regulatory requirement for online streaming undertakings than there is for traditional broadcasters,” it maintains. “Both should be required to provide for 100 per cent of the pre-recorded programs.” The Canadian Association for the Deaf wants the deaf and hard of hearing community to be involved in all stages of consultations. It wants to see American Sign Language, Quebec Sign Language and Indigenous Sign Language being used as closed captioning alternatives. It further states that such inclusion would align with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre offered a suggestion that the CRTC could set up a website where consumers could complain about the failings of streamers to caption their content. It suggests using the same rules imposed upon traditional broadcasters for the OSUs. There were also individual submissions from the general public. British Columbia deaf accessibility consultant Vinu Chetipurackal recommended that apps should offer discounts to customers if they cannot provide closed captioning. Dorothy Skrlj of Alberta complained that live programming too often lags behind the speaker, leading to sentences being cut off. Gent Ng, also from B.C., suggested artificial intelligence could be deployed to help with captioning. Comments are now closed although recognized parties are able to file replies before Sept. 18. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca

Streamers tell CRTC closed captioning on all programming not feasible

Broadcast | | August 26, 2024

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