The FCC should take steps to improve competition in the closed-captioning industry, Media CaptioningnServices (MCS) told Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and FCC staff in a meeting last week, accordingnto an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/16kmAs0). The company said large programmers aren“preferencing a few dominant closed captioning firms,” which is squeezing out the smaller companies thatnMCS says are the bulk of their industry. The company said this leads to decreased funding for schoolsnthat train captioners and court reporters. MCS blamed the large programmers' “anticompetitive” businessnpractices for steadily declining compensation for captioning, “despite the FCC requirement for video programmersnto provide increasing levels of captioning.” MCS said the decline in pay combined with the decreasing availability of training has led to parents “disincenting” their children from entering the closedncaptioning business. During the meeting with Clyburn, “the ability of the closed captioning industry tonmeet real time captioning requirements at quality levels needed by Deaf and hard of hearing viewers, includingnthe ability to meet peak demands at times of national and regional emergencies, was noted as ansignificant risk in the near future,” said the ex parte. MCS asked the FCC to study how often video programmersnare using smaller captioning companies and to consider that use when broadcast licenses comenup for renewal.
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