Final Regulatory Assessment and Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Final Rule - Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations - Movie Theaters; Movie Captioning and Audio Description
3.3.3. Captioning Device Scoping Requirements
In response to the 2014 NPRM, NATO and four advocacy groups representing persons who are deaf and hard of hearing21 submitted a joint comment (Joint Comment), which included a variety of specific recommendations regarding closed movie captioning and the Department’s proposed scoping requirements for captioning devices. The Joint Comment suggested that movie theaters maintain a minimum number of captioning devices based on the number of auditoriums displaying digital movies within a movie theater, or by venue type. The Department has adopted the minimum captioning device scoping suggested in the Joint Comment, and the Final RA uses these scoping requirements for the estimation of costs. The minimum number of captioning devices required per venue type is presented in Table 3-17 below.
Table 3-17 : Captioning Device Scoping Requirements Per Venue Type 22
Venue Type |
Minimum Number of Captioning Devices Required Per Venue Type |
|
Megaplex (16+ auditoriums) |
12 |
|
Multiplex (8–15 auditoriums) |
8 |
|
Miniplex (2–7 auditoriums) |
6 |
|
Single-Auditorium |
4 |
*Source: Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in conjunction with NATO and other disability advocacy groups, Comment Letter on Proposed Rule for Movie Captioning and Audio Description in Movie Theaters (Aug. 1, 2014), available athttp://nad.org/sites/default/files/2014/December/Joint_NPRM_Filing_RIN_1190-AA63_A.pdf (last visited Sept. 12, 2016).
The Joint Comment also suggested that the Department require movie theaters to monitor the demand for captioning devices and purchase more devices whenever the demand for the devices exceeds the supply. However, the Department has decided not to impose specific requirements at this time for providing additional captioning devices when actual demand for them exceeds the rule’s minimum requirements. Comments, usage data, and independent research all indicate that the rule’s minimum requirements obligate movie theaters to provide the optimum number of captioning devices sufficient to provide accessibility to individuals with disabilities who will need and use them. Although there are a few movie theaters located in markets that consistently have an unusually large number of patrons with hearing difficulties, only in these rare circumstances is there a reasonable possibility that regular demand for the devices will exceed the rule’s minimum requirements, and the Department’s research indicates that many of these movie theaters are already making voluntary efforts to satisfy consumer demand. Therefore, for purposes of the cost estimation, the Final RA assumes that no additional captioning devices beyond the minimum scoping requirements will be purchased as a result of this rulemaking.
21 Those advocacy groups are the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the National Association of the Deaf, the Association of Late Deafened Adults, and the Hearing Loss Association of America.
22 Table 3-17 is intended to reflect the captioning device scoping requirements outlined in § 36.303(g)(3) of the final rule. For purposes of the analysis, “venue type” is synonymous with “number of movie theater auditoriums exhibiting digital movies,” the terminology used in the final rule.
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