Lipreading Mom

Lipreading Mom’s Note: ABC was recently contacted by Lipreading Mom and the Collaboration for Communication Access via Captioning (CCAC) regarding lack of captions with its news and TV Website videos. Here is today’s response from the ABC Audience Information Department, followed by the original letter from Lipreading Mom and CCAC.

Response from ABC

Thank you for your feedback to the ABC Television Network regarding closed captioning when viewing segments or episodes on the ABC.com and ABCNews.com websites.

The FCC is currently revising its regulations to require certain TV programs to be captioned when distributed online under the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010. Although the FCC has not yet released the details of these regulations, ABC is preparing to fully comply with them. We will provide our viewers with more information about our plans after the rules are released by the FCC.

We appreciate your interest in the ABC TV Network.

ABC Audience Information

Note: The Company’s long-established policy does not allow us to accept for review or consideration any ideas, suggestions, or creative materials not solicited by us or our subsidiaries. Therefore, in the event that you have submitted such content, please be advised that the submission has been forwarded to the Company’s legal department for handling.

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Lipreading Mom and CCAC’s Letter to ABC

Dear ABCNews.com Management,

As followers with hearing loss, we are writing to express our concern about the lack of captions with your online videos.

For instance, the video “Deaf Cheerleader Makes Dream Come True” (URL: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/t/video/deaf-cheerleader-makes-dream-true-15234019) was not captioned.

On several occasions, we and friends with hearing loss have wanted to watch online broadcasts on your Websites, only to be unable to understand the information you present due to lack of captions.

With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting that 34 million U.S. adults have hearing loss, it would be in ABCNews.com’s best interest to provide captioned streaming as a way to appeal to this large group of potential viewers. Imagine the level of support and PR your network and site would receive if you launched captioned Internet broadcasts to appeal to this large portion of the U.S. population.

We welcome your thoughts and will be following up with you on behalf of the millions of Americans with hearing loss.

Respectfully,
Shanna Groves / LipreadingMom.com

and

Lauren E. Storck
Founder, Collaboration for Communication Access via Captioning / Ccacaptioning.org