January 1 Compliance Deadline for Captioning Montage Clips Online

As we previously reported here, FCC rules now require that any clip of programming that aired on television with captions that is subsequently delivered via Internet-protocol (“IP”) must also be captioned. The FCC adopted various compliance deadlines, which depended on the type of clip delivered via IP. In 2016, only straight-lift clips of prerecorded video programming were required to be captioned.

Beginning January 1, 2017, montage clips of prerecorded programming must be captioned if the associated video aired on television with captions. A montage is “programming contained in a single file that includes multiple straight lift clips,” whether “taken from different parts of a captioned full-length TV program or from different captioned TV programs.” Montages are different from “mash-up clips,” which are compilations of one or more clips that have been shown on television with captions, but are interspersed with additional content that has not been shown on television with captions. Mash-up clips do not have to be captioned.

As a reminder, the requirement to caption clips delivered via IP only applies to content that aired on television with captions and is posted to websites or apps operated by the video programming distributor.

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If you have any questions regarding the FCC’s closed captioning rules, please contact any attorney in our office.