The FCC has adopted new rules that increase the required hours of video described programming that covered broadcast stations and multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) must provide to customers. Video description makes video programming accessible to blind and visually impaired individuals by providing audio-narrated descriptions of on-screen activity during pauses in dialogue. Starting in July 2018, broadcasters and MVPDs carrying one of the nation’s top networks must provide 87.5 hours of video described programming per calendar quarter, a 75 percent increase to the 50 hours per quarter currently mandated. While the existing 50 hour requirement must be met exclusively during prime-time or children’s programming, the 37.5 hours per quarter added by the Commission’s new rules can be provided at any time between 6 a.m. and midnight. The networks presently covered by the video description rule are ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, Disney Channel, History, TBS, TNT, and USA. However, this list is subject to change pending an update to the list of the top five nonbroadcast networks in July 2018.
