VPDs Must Make Emergency Info Accessible, Says FCC Reminder PN

other distributor of video programming for residential reception that delivers such programming directly to the home,” the PN said. Emergency information shown during “the video portion of a regularly scheduled newscast or a newscast that interrupts regular programming” should be made accessible through aural description, the PN said. The information in text crawls must be conveyed over a secondary audio stream, the PN said. Manufacturers have to provide a simple mechanism for accessing the secondary stream by Dec. 20, and multichannel video programming distributors will be required to pass through emergency info on a secondary audio stream “when it is provided on linear programming accessed on second screen devices” starting July 10, the PN said. For those who are hearing impaired, it said, “emergency information provided in the audio portion of the programming [must] be made accessible using closed captioning or other methods of visual presentation, including open captioning, crawls or scrolls that appear on the screen.” To make sure warnings are understood by those watching who have cognitive disabilities or conditions such as Alzheimer's, the FCC recommends VPDs provide content “in plain and understandable English, avoiding, where possible, abbreviations, idioms, technical vocabulary, complicated and lengthy sentences, and figurative language” and include “easy-to understand instructions,” the PN said. The FCC will monitor complaints about a lack of accessible emergency information closely, and violations could incur ”possible enforcement action,” the PN said. Complaints can be filed at www.fcc.gov/complaints