The rules, which will cover both free-to-air and cable television, will require that 11 “essential functions” of TV menus can be read out on televisions, tablets and mobile phones. These include volume control, program, channel information, and other settings. The FCC is also proposing that audio description and closed captioning can be activated by a single button or similar method.
The proposed rules are the last of a raft of new rules which the FCC was empowered to make following the passage of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act in 2010. Previous rules it has issued included requirements for online versions of TV programs to be captioned and emergency alerts on TV to be made accessible to the blind, and a reinstatement of audio description quotas for television. In May the FCC ruled that text messages sent to emergency services would be ‘bounced back’ to the sender if the emergency service was unable to receive them.
The FCC has allowed 50 days for public comment on the new talking TV menu rules, which it intends to introduce in October.
For more information, see this article on The Hill website.
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