NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: March 27, 2013 Janice Wise: (202) 418-8165 Email: Janice.Wise@fcc.gov INTERNET CLOSED CAPTIONING RULES GO INTO EFFECT MARCH 30, 2013 FOR LIVE AND NEAR-LIVE PROGRAMMING Washington, D.C. -- Rules requiring closed captions on live and near-live programming delivered via Internet protocol (IP) go into effect on March 30, 2013. Captions make video programming accessible to viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing by visually displaying the audio portion of the video programming. IP closed captioning is a requirement of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA). The rules that become effective on March 30 apply to IP-delivered video programming that meets the following criteria: § The live or near-live programming is shown on television with closed captions on or after March 30, 2013; and § The programming is not in the IP programming distributor’s or provider’s inventory before it is shown on television with captions. Closed captioning requirements for prerecorded programming that is not edited for Internet distribution went into effect on September 30, 2012. Closed captioning requirements for other kinds of video programming, including prerecorded programming that is edited for Internet distribution and programming that is already in the IP distributor’s or provider’s inventory before it is shown on television with captions (archival content) will be implemented at later dates. -FCC- For news and information about the FCC, please visit www.fcc.gov.