Comments Due Dec. 13 on Retroactive Audible Crawl Waiver
The FCC is seeking comment on NAB’s request for a retroactive waiver of the agency’s audible crawl rule while the comment period on the association's previous request for an extension of a waiver of the same rule remains open, said…
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a public notice Friday. The FCC’s rule requiring aural description of visual, non-textual emergency information, such as radar maps, has been repeatedly waived since 2015, but the most recent waiver lapsed Nov. 26. NAB had already requested an extension by then, but comments on that request aren’t closed until Jan. 9, so the trade group last week asked the FCC to issue a retroactive temporary waiver until the agency decides on issuing a longer one (see 2411290007). Comments on the retroactive waiver are due Dec.13, replies Dec. 18, in docket 12-107, Friday’s PN said. Without the retroactive waiver, many broadcasters have ceased using radar maps to avoid violating the aural description requirement, NAB told the FCC. NAB has maintained that automated audio description of a visual graphic isn’t currently technologically feasible.