National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

March 10, 1997

NCAA asks for closed-captioning exemption

The NCAA has advised the Federal Communications Commission that many college sports telecasts and cablecasts should be exempt from a federal mandate to provide closed-captioning for the hearing impaired.

In response to the FCC's solicitation for comments on a proposed rule that would mandate closed-captioning on virtually all telecasts, the Association's statement said: "While the NCAA shares the Commission's concerns related to the availability of closed-captioned college sports programming, there are many examples of local and regional broadcasts where the cost of captioning would appear to be economically burdensome."

The NCAA acknowledged that telecasts of its championships events are supported, in most cases, by large production budgets and noted that 44 percent of its total telecast hours already are captioned. "The NCAA will work with its broadcast partners to ensure that the remaining NCAA championships are closed-captioned and that this is achieved well before the end of the proposed phase-in period," said the response, which was signed by Executive Director Cedric W. Dempsey.

However, the statement also noted that most college sports telecasts are not supported by large budgets and that "most NCAA institutions do not receive any significant broadcast rights fees from telecasts of their sports teams.... The NCAA is concerned that the added expense of real-time closed-captioning may make it prohibitive for some institutions and conferences to afford to underwrite future broadcasts of college sports."

Regarding local programming, the statement noted that the purpose of many local telecasts is not to generate revenue but rather to reach alumni groups and the community at large. With budgets already stretched, a requirement to close-caption could result in institutions choosing not to telecast athletics events.

"Given the fiscal realities of most college athletics department budgets," the response stated, "the added costs of closed-captioning would likely reduce the amount of local college sports programming aired on local televisions. Under this scenario, everyone may lose, including those who have hearing disabilities."

The NCAA also expressed concern that the demand for closed-captioning brought about by the new requirement could escalate the cost of the service, which is provided by a relatively small number of real-time captioners across the country.

In addition, the response said that many institutions are using local telecasts to heighten interest in women's athletics events and facilitate gender equity.

"Recently, increased national television exposure has significantly attributed to the rise in popularity of women's college basketball," the response said. "....Institutions frequently absorb $3,000 to $18,000 a game in production costs in order to televise and promote the sport.... If an exemption is not granted for this class of college sports programming, the benefits of local television coverage may not be realized as local broadcast stations and university athletics departments struggle to absorb the additional costs of closed-captioning."

The response expressed a similar concern about regional cablecasts. It noted that in such cases, institutions are more motivated by exposure than by a desire to generate revenue.

It cited the case of one Division III institution in New England that produces only one telecast a year. "The athletics department at this Division III institution does not have a budget large enough to fund the $8,500 in production costs associated with its only telecast," the response noted. "Instead, the costs are divided among the athletics department, the admissions office, the development office and alumni relations. The regional cable network provides an unscrambled signal to a satellite and the institution widely publicizes the satellite coordinates throughout the country to its alumni. Alumni organizations hold dozens of receptions across the country featuring the game as the main event."

The deadline for a response to the FCC proposal was February 28. Unless exceptions are made, the rules change would require almost all telecasts and cablecasts, regardless of the nature of the event, to be closed-captioned beginning August 1, 1997.