28 CFR Part 36 Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations - Movie Theaters; Movie Captioning and Audio Description Final Rule

A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563—Summary of Regulatory Assessment

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits, of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting flexibility. The Department has assessed the costs and benefits of this final rule and believes that the rule's benefits justify its costs, and that the regulatory approach selected maximizes net benefits.

In keeping with Executive Order 12866, the Department has evaluated this rule to assess whether it would likely “[h]ave an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or communities.” E.O. 12866, § 3(f)(1). The Department's Final RA shows that this regulation does not represent an economically “significant” regulatory action within the meaning of Executive Order 12866.

The Department's full Final RA can be found on the Department's Web site at http://www.ada.gov. The Department refers to sections of the Final RA throughout.

1. Purpose and Need for Rule and Scope of Regulatory Assessment

As described in greater detail in section III, supra, and section 1.1 of the Final RA, public accommodations that own, lease, or operate movie theaters have an existing obligation to provide effective communication to persons with disabilities through the use of auxiliary aids and services. This rule provides greater specificity as to how these effective communication obligations are met when showing digital movies that are produced, distributed, or otherwise made available with captioning and audio description.

While there has been an increase in the number of movie theaters exhibiting movies with closed movie captioning (and, to a lesser extent, audio description) due in large part to successful disability rights litigation brought by private plaintiffs and State attorneys general during the past few years, the availability of movies exhibited with closed movie captioning and audio description varies significantly across the U.S. depending upon locality and movie theater ownership. The ADA requirements for effective communication apply to all public accommodations (including movie theaters) in every jurisdiction in the U.S. and should be consistently applied using a uniform ADA standard. The right to access movies exhibited with closed movie captioning and audio description should not depend on whether the person with a disability resides in a jurisdiction where movie theaters subject to a consent decree or settlement exhibit movies with closed movie captioning or audio description. And, even in jurisdictions where theaters exhibit movies with captioning and audio description, many do not make captioning and audio description available at all movie showings. Thus, some persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, or blind or have low vision, still cannot fully take part in movie-going outings with family or friends, join in social conversations about recent movie releases, or otherwise participate in a meaningful way in an important aspect of American culture.

The Department is convinced that regulation is warranted at this time in order to achieve the goals and promise of the ADA. Through this rule, the Department is explicitly requiring movie theaters to exhibit digital movies with closed movie captioning and audio description at all times and for all showings whenever movies are produced, distributed, or otherwise made available with such features unless to do so would result in an undue burden or a fundamental alteration.

The purpose of the Final RA is to capture the incremental costs of the rulemaking. As a result, the Final RA only includes the costs that movie theaters will incur as a direct result of this rulemaking. It is the Department's position that movie theaters that have already acquired the necessary equipment prior to the rulemaking have done so consistent with their longstanding obligation to provide effective communication as public accommodations, and as a result, the costs associated with providing closed movie captioning and audio description in such auditoriums cannot be directly attributed to this rulemaking. The analysis also assumes that movie theaters with auditoriums currently equipped to provide closed movie captioning and audio description would also operate and maintain this equipment in the absence of this rule. Therefore, these costs are not included in the Final RA's total costs estimation unless specifically noted.

2. Public Comments on the Initial Regulatory Assessment and Department Responses

This section discusses comments on the Initial Regulatory Assessment dated July 11, 2014 (Initial RA), provided in support of the 2014 NPRM. The Department received 436 comments during the 2014 NPRM comment period from a variety of stakeholders, including movie industry representatives, individuals with disabilities, advocacy groups representing individuals with disabilities, State and Federal entities, academic organizations, private companies, and other private individuals. Many of these comments directly addressed the assumptions, data, or methodology used in the Initial RA.

The Guidance and Section-by-Section Analysis, Appendix F, infra, is the primary forum for substantive responses to the comments addressing the proposed regulation generally. A summary and discussion of comments as they relate to small entities can be found below in section VI.B.

General Comments Regarding the Initial RA's Cost Estimation

The Department reviewed a number of comments suggesting that the Department underestimated the costs of complying with this rule. Commenters disagreed with a variety of cost estimates provided in the Initial RA. As a threshold matter, the Department agrees that in some instances, the estimates provided did not accurately capture a particular cost of compliance. For example, after reviewing the public comments, the Department determined that the staff training costs estimated in the Initial RA did not adequately capture the costs to comply with the operational requirements of the rule, and the equipment unit costs used in the Initial RA did not represent the most current market price of the available equipment. As a result, the Department has updated these estimates in response to the public comments received. However, the Department is confident that other estimates were reasonable and remain supported by the Department's independent research. In consideration of all comments, the Department has made adjustments where appropriate. The comments at issue and related comments are specifically addressed below.

Comments Regarding the Cost of Captioning and Audio Description Equipment

In the Initial RA, the Department estimated the costs of compliance with the proposed rule by estimating the number of hardware units and device units the average movie theater within each venue type ^[24] would need in order to comply with the scoping requirements, which determine the number of captioning devices and audio description devices a movie theater is required to have and maintain. Because the proposed scoping for captioning devices was based on the number of seats within a movie theater, the Department estimated the average seat count across each venue type. The Department also estimated the average number of auditoriums across each venue type to estimate the number of audio description devices and hardware units needed. One commenter noted that the Department's estimates regarding the number of seats and auditoriums were too low, especially for single-auditorium and miniplex movie theaters. Because of this underestimation, the commenter believed that small movie theater establishments would be required to purchase many more captioning devices than the Department assumed in its cost analysis. Based on industry survey information provided by the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) in its individual comment, the Department has updated the Final RA cost estimation to reflect new data regarding average auditorium counts across venue types. Data concerning average seat count is no longer relevant because the final rule's scoping for captioning devices is based on the number of auditoriums, rather than the number of seats, within a movie theater. See section 3.3 of the Final RA for a more detailed discussion of the scoping requirements of this rulemaking and their impact on the Final RA.

The Department also received multiple comments concerning the unit costs for the hardware and individual devices as well as the Department's methodology regarding these estimates. NATO provided the most recent unit cost data for all captioning and audio description equipment currently available on the market, and the Department has updated its cost estimates in the Final RA to reflect this updated information. See section 3.4 of the Final RA for a more detailed discussion of the captioning and audio description unit costs and their impact on the Final RA.

In the Initial RA, the Department estimated the upfront costs for the captioning and audio description equipment by averaging the hardware and device unit costs of some equipment available on the market. One commenter stated that the Department's methodology concerning the average hardware and device unit costs for captioning and audio description equipment was insufficient because it only averaged the costs of the less expensive equipment. According to the commenter, many movie theaters purchase the more expensive captioning glasses offered by Sony to satisfy audience demand, and as a result, the Initial RA substantially underestimated the cost of compliance by excluding the cost of Sony's equipment from the average cost estimates. A second commenter pointed out that the intent of the RA is to estimate the minimum cost of compliance, indicating that the Department's methodology and estimate regarding the upfront costs were reasonable.

Executive Order 12866 requires the Department to estimate the costs that movie theaters will incur as a result of this rulemaking. Currently, there is more than one manufacturer of the equipment necessary to provide captioning and audio description, and the cost for the equipment varies among the manufacturers. The Department has not specified the manufacturer from which movie theaters must purchase the equipment, and movie theaters retain the discretion to purchase the equipment of their choice. As a result, the Department has included the cost for all available equipment, including the Sony equipment, in its estimate of the captioning and audio description equipment unit costs for miniplex, multiplex, and megaplex movie theaters. The Department has not added the cost of the Sony equipment to its estimate of hardware and device unit costs for single-auditorium movie theaters because the Department remains convinced that small movie theater establishments are highly unlikely to purchase the more expensive equipment. As the Department's independent research indicates, the less expensive cup holder captioning devices account for the largest percentage of the captioning device market share, and NATO advised the Department that few movie theaters outside of the top movie theater chains actually use Sony's captioning glasses. Therefore, while other large movie theater establishments may choose to use Sony's technology, the Department has excluded this equipment from its estimate of the upfront costs for single-auditorium movie theaters. See section 3.4 of the Final RA for a more detailed discussion of Sony equipment unit costs and their impact on the Final RA.

Comments Regarding Other Cost Estimates: Staff Training, Notice, Installation, Replacement, and Operation and Maintenance

In addition to the comments addressing the captioning and audio description equipment cost estimates, the Department received a number of comments addressing other cost estimates provided in the Initial RA. These comments addressed the Department's estimate of staff training costs, notice costs, acquisition and installation costs, replacement costs, and operation and maintenance costs. Overall, commenters indicated that the Department either failed to include these costs in its estimates or that the Department's estimate for these costs was too low.

The Department originally included staff training costs associated with the rule in its estimate of the annual operations and maintenance costs, but the Department sought public comment on the amount of additional time movie theaters would spend training their employees to operate the captioning and audio description devices and to assist patrons in their use. The Department received a single comment in response to this question. One movie theater anticipated that movie theaters would spend an additional 15 minutes on employee training to ensure that their staff was knowledgeable about the equipment and in compliance with the rule's operational requirements. In consideration of this comment, the Department has included a separate estimate for the staff training costs associated with the operational requirements of the final rule. The information provided by the movie theater commenter serves as the basis for the staff training costs estimate. See section 3.7 of the Final RA for a more detailed discussion of the data, research, and assumptions used to estimate staff training costs.

The Department received only a few comments regarding its position that any cost associated with the notice requirement would be de minimis. One commenter argued that requiring notice in all places where movie times are listed would cost the industry millions of dollars annually because theaters would be required to invest in software upgrades, the purchase of new signage on an ongoing basis, the purchase of digital display sets, and increased advertising space to accommodate more text. However, this commenter did not provide any information or data to support this position, and the only other commenter on this issue, a movie theater, agreed with the Department's conclusion that notice costs would be de minimis. According to this movie theater, the notice costs associated with the rule would be minimal for most exhibitors considering that the industry has largely separated itself from print advertising in favor of online advertising and adding icons for captioning and audio description would not be very difficult.

Based on the Department's independent research and the comments received, the Department maintains its position that the costs associated with the notice requirement are de minimis. The notice requirement does not require a movie theater to implement a specific form of notice. Movie theaters routinely use “CC” and “AD” or “DV” to indicate the availability of closed movie captioning and audio description in their communications currently, including on their Web sites and mobile apps, and the Department's research indicates that the inclusion of such symbols does not increase the cost of advertisements already placed or require software upgrades as one commenter indicated. For a more detailed discussion of those costs associated with this rulemaking that the Department has determined to be de minimis, see section 2.4.4.2 of the Final RA.

The Department also disagrees with commenters who criticized the Department's failure to include accurate equipment unit costs and installation costs in the Initial RA. As the Department indicated in the Initial RA, the unit cost estimates for the available equipment included the cost to install the equipment, and these unit cost estimates were based on the most up-to-date data available to the Department during the development of the Initial RA. See section 4.6 of the Initial RA. The Department has updated the equipment unit cost estimates, now referred to as “acquisition costs” in the Final RA, to reflect the most recent data concerning the unit costs for all available hardware and devices. The Final RA also now calculates installation costs as a separate cost based on a movie theater's upfront costs. For a more detailed discussion of the data, research, and assumptions used to estimate the installation costs, see section 3.5 of the Final RA.

A couple of comments addressed the replacement costs estimated in the Initial RA, specifically the replacement costs of the individual devices. One commenter estimated that the useful life of the captioning devices is about 5 years. According to NATO, industry data indicates that between 2.5 percent and 15 percent of individual devices must be replaced annually. The Department has updated the estimate of individual device replacement costs to reflect the industry data provided by NATO. To incorporate the individual devices' estimated 4-to-7-year useful life, the Department estimates that 20 percent of all captioning and audio description devices purchased as a result of this rulemaking will be replaced annually. For a more detailed discussion of the data, research, and assumptions used to estimate the replacement costs, see section 3.6 of the Final RA.

Several commenters also argued that the Department's estimate regarding operation and maintenance costs was too low. According to these commenters, the maintenance costs include costs associated with replacement batteries, periodic system testing, and upgrading software, and because these costs are relative to the cost of the equipment, the Department should consider the high cost of the devices when estimating this cost. A few comments seemed to express confusion that the operations and maintenance cost estimate in the Initial RA encompassed the costs associated with installation, replacement, and staff training. The Department has considered these comments and has included separate cost estimates for the costs associated with installation, replacement, and staff training. However, the Department's independent research confirms that 3 percent of total equipment acquisition costs represents an accurate estimate of the annual operation and maintenance costs associated with this rule, especially now that installation, replacement, and staff training costs are estimated separately. The relevant cost category has been renamed “maintenance and administrative costs” in the Final RA. For a more detailed discussion of the data, research, and assumptions used to calculate the maintenance and administrative costs of this rule, see section 3.8 of the Final RA.

Comments Regarding the Benefits Estimate

The Department discussed the qualitative benefits associated with this rule in the Initial RA. Without reliable information about the number of individuals who would go to the movies as a result of this rule or the number of captioned and audio-described screenings already shown, the Department determined that the benefits of the rule were difficult to quantify. Nonetheless, the Department determined that many individuals, both those with and without disabilities, would benefit as a result of the rule, and that such benefits justified any associated costs. Furthermore, the Department fully expected that the guarantee of access to movies screened at movie theaters for individuals with hearing or vision impairments would spur some level of new demand for movie attendance and therefore lead to increased box office receipts.

A majority of commenters addressing the Department's benefit analysis recognized the difficulty in quantifying the benefits of the rule but agreed with the Department's conclusions concerning the direct and indirect beneficiaries that this rule would serve. Many comments focused on the number of individuals with hearing and vision disabilities, arguing that the U.S. Census vastly underestimates the number of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, or blind or have low vision. Commenters also stated that in addition to helping individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, movie captioning has the potential to increase the access and enjoyment of movies for a wide variety of people, including individuals with cognitive-communication disorders, language-based learning disabilities, aphasia, central auditory processing disorders, or individuals who are learning English or may be working to improve their literacy skills. Organizations representing individuals with hearing and vision disabilities commented generally that captioning and audio description provide the keys to American culture to the extent that these services help individuals with hearing and vision disabilities to be more familiar with “everyday events,” thus allowing them to be more socially integrated into society.

One commenter, however, criticized the Department's benefit analysis. This commenter asserted that the Department failed to justify the rule with relevant, evidence-based research to demonstrate that the proposed rule would advance the intended benefits. The commenter further recommended that the Department conduct an industry-wide survey of movie theaters and individuals with hearing and vision disabilities to determine the number of individuals currently seeking captioning and audio description and their willingness to pay for such services.

The Department maintains its position that the non-quantifiable benefits of this rule justify the costs of requiring captioning and audio description at movie theaters nationwide. The Department received a number of comments from individuals with hearing and vision disabilities, as well as advocacy groups, indicating that individuals with disabilities are currently seeking these accessibility services, but that these services are either consistently unavailable or insufficient to meet their needs. With the information received from such comments and the Department's independent research, the Department does not believe that conducting a nationwide survey is necessary to confirm that this rulemaking will advance the intended benefits. As section 1(c) of Executive Order 13563 highlights, agencies would be remiss to overlook the benefits “that are difficult or impossible to quantify, including equity, human dignity, [and] fairness.” With respect to such benefits, this rulemaking will not only ensure that individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, or blind or have low vision, are afforded equal access to movie theaters across the country, but will also ensure that such individuals are afforded the opportunity to participate in the social experiences that accompany a new movie's release. As a result, the Department remains convinced that this rulemaking will significantly advance the achievement of the intended benefits, and that such benefits justify the costs associated with this rulemaking. See section V.A.4, infra, and chapter 5 of the Final RA for a more detailed discussion of the benefits of this rulemaking.

24.  In the Initial RA, the Department used the term “theater type” to describe the movie industry's classification of movie theaters based on the number of auditoriums within a movie theater complex. In the Final RA, the Department has replaced “theater type” with “venue type” in order to avoid potential confusion with the classification of movie theaters based on projection system (i.e., digital vs. analog) and the distinction between indoor movie theaters and drive-in movie theaters. The Final RA divides movie theaters into four venue types: megaplex, multiplex, miniplex, and single-auditorium. See section 2.1.4 of the Final RA.

3. Costs—Summary of Likely Economic Impact

This section presents the calculations used to estimate the total costs resulting from the amendments to the title III regulation, which require movie theaters to provide closed movie captioning and audio description when exhibiting digital movies equipped with such features. As previously mentioned, total costs to movie theaters subject to the rulemaking include the following components:

• Acquisition costs for captioning hardware;

• Acquisition costs for audio description hardware;

• Acquisition costs for captioning devices;

• Acquisition costs for audio description devices;

• Installation costs for captioning and audio description equipment;

• Replacement costs for captioning and audio description equipment;

• Staff training costs for the provision of captioning and audio description equipment; and

• Maintenance and administrative costs.

Key Assumptions

Because movie theater complexes vary greatly by the number of auditoriums, and the overall cost of this rule varies in direct relation to the number of auditoriums exhibiting digital movies within a movie theater, the Final RA breaks the movie exhibition industry into four venue types based on size:

• Megaplex (16+ auditoriums);

• Multiplex (8-15 auditoriums);

• Miniplex (2-7 auditoriums); and

• Single-Auditorium movie theaters.

Additionally, uncertainty exists regarding the extent to which movie theaters would offer closed movie captioning and audio description if the Department had not undertaken this rulemaking. Therefore, the Final RA estimates costs against three different baseline scenarios, which are described in greater detail in section 3.2 of the Final RA. The primary analysis incorporates the Medium Accessibility baseline, which is based on data available in NATO's 2015 Accessibility Survey. As shown in Table 1, under this baseline around 72 percent of auditoriums operated in megaplex, multiplex, and miniplex theaters are assumed to be equipped to provide closed movie captioning. Similarly, approximately 71 percent of auditoriums in these movie theaters are assumed to be equipped to provide audio description. The analysis assumes that no single-auditorium movie theater is already equipped to provide closed movie captioning or audio description.

Section 2.1.3 and section 3.2 of the Final RA explain in detail the methodology and data that provide the basis for the Department's assumptions regarding the number of movie theater auditoriums currently equipped to provide closed movie captioning and audio description.

The assumptions regarding the total number of auditoriums and the distribution of these auditoriums by venue type (megaplex, multiplex, miniplex, or single-auditorium) are further detailed in section 3.1 of the Final RA. Finally, section 3.1.3 of the Final RA describes the assumptions made in the analysis regarding the growth of auditoriums and venue types, and section 3.3 of the Final RA provides detailed assumptions and information regarding the scoping requirements by venue type.

Costs Determined To Be De Minimis

The Department has determined that there are a few cost components associated with this rulemaking that are de minimis and therefore have not been estimated in the Final RA's total costs estimation. These include repair costs and costs to comply with the final rule's notice requirement. Repair costs are expected to be de minimis because manufacturers, movie theaters, and the Department's independent research indicate that repair of the captioning and audio description equipment is rare. If equipment breaks down, the answer is replacement rather than repair, and such costs are captured by the hardware and device replacement costs. Additionally, costs associated with the cleaning or occasional maintenance of the devices are captured by the ongoing maintenance and administrative costs. Any additional repair costs for captioning and audio description equipment are thus expected to be de minimis.

The Department has further determined that the costs associated with the notice requirement will be de minimis. Based on comments received and the Department's independent research, the movie exhibition industry has largely moved away from print advertising in favor of digital advertising, and as one commenter indicated, digital advertising allows movie theaters to add information concerning the availability of captioning and audio description without much difficulty. Currently, movie theaters routinely use “CC” and “AD” or “DV” to indicate the availability of closed movie captioning and audio description in their communications, and the Department's research indicates that the inclusion of such abbreviations does not increase the cost of advertisements. Therefore, the additional time and cost it will take a movie theater to add such information is negligible.

Upfront Costs

The upfront costs of this rulemaking include the costs to acquire and install the necessary captioning and audio description equipment. Movie theaters incur the majority of the upfront costs during the first 2 years of the analysis, as movie theaters with auditoriums currently exhibiting digital movies will purchase and install the necessary equipment throughout 2016 and 2017 in accordance with the 18-month compliance date. However, the cost estimation also includes the costs incurred by new auditoriums opening after the 18-month compliance date. As a result, equipment acquisition and installation costs are incurred over the entire 15-year analysis period in the primary analysis. Table 2 shows the total equipment acquisition and installation costs incurred over the 15-year period of analysis by venue type. Overall, the upfront costs to movie theaters are expected to total $34.2 million when discounted at 7 percent.

 * Totals may differ due to rounding.

Section 2.3 of the Final RA provides greater detail as to the Department's methodology and assumptions for estimating the upfront costs of this rulemaking. The data and research providing the basis for these estimates are presented in section 3.3 through section 3.5 of the Final RA.

Ongoing Costs

In addition to the upfront costs, movie theaters will incur ongoing costs as a direct result of this rulemaking. The ongoing costs quantified in the cost estimation include captioning and audio description equipment replacement costs, staff training costs, and maintenance and administrative costs. Table 3 shows the total ongoing costs by venue type. Overall, the ongoing annual costs amount to $54.3 million over the 15-year period of analysis when discounted at 7 percent.

* Totals may differ due to rounding.

Replacement costs are expected to be $36.1 million over the 15-year period of analysis when discounted at 7 percent. Replacement costs include the costs to replace all equipment necessary to provide closed movie captioning and audio description, including the captioning and audio description devices as well as the captioning and audio description hardware. Table 4-6 of the Final RA shows the estimated replacement costs associated with each type of equipment. The data and assumptions used to estimate the replacement costs are discussed in greater detail in section 2.4.1 and section 3.6 of the Final RA.

Staff training is expected to cost approximately $9.9 million over the 15-year period of analysis when discounted at 7 percent. The rule requires staff to be available to provide patrons with captioning and audio description devices and to direct patrons on the devices' use. This requirement can most easily be met by expanding the already existing training for those employees who will be on-site to manage or oversee overall operations or the exhibition of the movies. Because the operational requirements of this rulemaking apply to all movie theaters subject to the rulemaking, including those with auditoriums that currently provide closed movie captioning and audio description, the Department has estimated the staff training costs for all movie theaters exhibiting digital movies. Section 2.4.2 and section 3.7 of the Final RA explain the data and assumptions used to estimate the staff training costs.

Finally, maintenance and administrative costs are expected to be $8.2 million over the 15-year period of analysis when discounted at 7 percent. These costs include, but are not limited to, the periodic ongoing maintenance, system testing, and cleaning of devices and other additional administrative costs. The data and assumptions used to estimate the maintenance and administrative costs are discussed in greater detail in section 2.4.3 and section 3.8 of the Final RA.

Total Costs

The total costs in the primary analysis are calculated based on the data and assumptions presented in chapters 2 and 3 of the Final RA. As described in section 3.2.2 of the Final RA, the primary analysis incorporates the Medium Accessibility baseline, which is based on data available in NATO's 2015 Accessibility Survey. Table 4 below shows the total costs in the primary analysis by cost category. The total cost impact of the rulemaking over the 15-year period of analysis is $88.5 million when discounted at 7 percent, and $113.4 million when discounted at 3 percent.

 * Totals may differ due to rounding.

The total costs are broken down by venue type in table 5. Auditoriums in multiplex movie theaters account for more than half of the total costs ($45.7 million) over the 15-year period of analysis, which is consistent with the fact that multiplex movie theaters operate approximately 52 percent of all auditoriums. The costs to single-auditorium movie theaters over the 15-year period of analysis are approximately $5.3 million when discounted at 7 percent, and $6.3 million when discounted at 3 percent. As detailed in section 3.2.3 of the Final RA, the primary analysis assumes that no single-auditorium movie theater is already equipped to provide closed movie captioning or audio description. As a result, it is assumed that all single-auditorium movie theaters subject to this rulemaking would need to purchase the necessary captioning and audio description equipment.

* Totals may differ due to rounding.

In table 6 below, the annualized costs are presented by venue type using 7-percent and 3-percent discount rates. Overall, the annualized cost to the entire movie exhibition industry is $9.7 million when using a 7-percent discount rate, and $9.5 million when using a 3-percent discount rate.

* Totals may differ due to rounding. 

Sensitivity Analyses

Sensitivity analysis is an essential consideration for policy makers in evaluating the rule due to the uncertainty associated with certain key variables used in the cost estimation. The Department was able to find robust data regarding the costs of purchasing captioning and audio description equipment, the number of auditoriums in the country, and several other critical variables. However, there are some input variables that carry uncertainty. No substantive comments with data on these inputs were received in the public comments on the 2014 NPRM.

The sensitivity analyses estimate the costs of this rulemaking when using the following inputs:

• Low Accessibility and High Accessibility baselines;

• Alternate Medium Accessibility baseline;

• Alternate captioning and audio description device replacement rates;

• Increased staff training frequency;

• Single-auditorium unit cost estimates including Sony's technology;

• Increased maintenance and administrative costs; and

• Zero growth after five years.

Detailed information and data regarding these sensitivity analyses can be found in section 4.2 of the Final RA.

4. Benefits—Qualitative Discussion of Benefits

The individuals who will directly benefit from this rule are those persons with hearing or vision disabilities who, as a result of this rule, would be able to attend movies with closed movie captioning or audio description in movie theaters across the country for the first time or on a more consistent basis. Individuals who will indirectly benefit from this rule are the family and friends of persons with hearing and vision disabilities that would be able to share the movie-going experience more fully with their friends or loved ones with hearing and vision disabilities. Although the anticipated benefits of this rulemaking are difficult to quantify, the Department remains convinced that there are significant qualitative benefits of this rulemaking that justify this regulation at this time.

The benefits of this rule are difficult to quantify because the Department has not been able to locate robust data on the rate at which persons with disabilities currently attend movies shown in movie theaters. Moreover, as a result of the increased accommodations required by this rule, it is reasonable to predict that some number of persons with disabilities will likely attend movies for the first time, some number of persons with disabilities will likely attend movies at a rate that is different than they had previously, the number of persons who attend movies as part of a larger group that includes a person with a disability will likely change, and the number of persons with disabilities who would have attended movies anyway but under the rule will have a fuller and more pleasant experience will likely also change. The Department has no feasible way of projecting those figures. In addition, the Department does not know how many people with hearing or vision disabilities currently have consistent access to movie theaters that provide closed movie captioning and audio description. Finally, the Department is not aware of any peer-reviewed academic or professional studies that monetize or quantify the societal benefit of providing closed movie captioning and audio description at movie theaters.

Though the Department cannot confidently estimate the likely number of people who would directly benefit from this rule, it has reviewed data on the number of people with hearing or vision disabilities in the United States. The Census Bureau estimates that 3.3 percent of the U.S. population ages 15 and older has difficulty seeing, which translates into a little more than 8 million individuals in 2010, and a little more than 2 million of those had “severe” difficulty seeing. At the same time, the Census Bureau estimates that 3.1 percent of the U.S. population ages 15 and older have difficulty hearing, which was a little more than 7.5 million individuals in 2010, and approximately 1 million of them had “severe” difficulty hearing. See U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce, P70-131, Americans with Disabilities: 2010 Household Economic Studies at 8 (2012), available at http://www.census.gov/​prod/​2012pubs/​p70-131.pdf (last visited Sept. 12, 2016). While not all of these individuals would benefit from this rule, many of them will be direct beneficiaries, although they are likely to benefit from this rule in different ways and to varying extents. The type and extent of benefits can depend on personal circumstances and preferences, as well as proximity to movie theaters that otherwise would not offer captioning or audio description but for this rule. Some persons with vision and hearing disabilities have effectively been precluded from going to movies at movie theaters because the only theaters available to them do not offer closed movie captioning or audio description, offer open captioning but only at inconvenient times (such as the middle of the day during the week), or offer captioning or audio description for only a few films and not for every screening of those films. For these persons, the primary benefit will be the ability to see movies when released in movie theaters along with other movie patrons, which they otherwise would not have had the opportunity to do. They will have the value of that movie-going experience, as well as the opportunity to discuss the film socially at the same time as the rest of the movie-viewing public. A person with a hearing or vision disability who previously did not have access to a movie theater that provided closed movie captioning or audio description will experience this benefit to an extent that is different than the extent of the benefit experienced by a person with a hearing or vision disability who previously did have access to a movie theater that consistently provided closed movie captioning and audio description. In addition, a person who cannot follow a movie at all without the assistance of closed movie captioning is likely to experience this benefit to an extent that is different than the extent of the benefit experienced by a person who can follow parts of a movie without the assistance of closed movie captioning.

There is a social value in movie viewing for many people, not just an entertainment value. As noted previously, movies are a part of our shared cultural experience, and the subject of “water cooler” talk and lunchtime conversations. The Supreme Court observed over 60 years ago that motion pictures “are a significant medium for the communication of ideas” and “may affect public attitudes and behavior in a variety of ways, ranging from direct espousal of a political or social doctrine to the subtle shaping of thought which characterizes all artistic expression. The importance of motion pictures as an organ of public opinion is not lessened by the fact that they are designed to entertain as well as to inform.” Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson, 343 U.S. 495, 501 (1952) (footnote omitted). When individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, or blind or have low vision, have the opportunity to attend movies that they can actually understand because of captioning or audio description, they are exposed to new ideas and gain knowledge that contributes to the development of their communication and literacy as well as their integration into society.

As previously mentioned, some persons with vision or hearing disabilities may already have access to some movie theaters with captioning or audio description capabilities, but that access may be limited to only some locations and times. Some of these people may be patronizing movie theaters now but less often than they otherwise would, or less often than they would like, if captioning or audio description were available consistently across all theaters. These people may see more movies or save time that they currently must spend monitoring those few accessible movie theaters or showings and perhaps additional time coordinating trips to the movies with family and friends. If all movie theaters are accessible to those who are deaf or hard of hearing, or blind or have low vision, then some persons will now have greater choice among multiple locations and can make choices based on other criteria such as location, times, and other amenities, just as Americans without these disabilities already do.

In addition to the direct beneficiaries of the rule discussed above, others may be indirect beneficiaries of this rule. Family and friends of persons with these disabilities who wish to go to the movies together as a shared social experience will now have greater opportunities to do so. More adults who visit elderly parents with hearing or sight limitations would presumably be able to take their parents on outings and enjoy a movie at a movie theater together, sharing the experience as they may have in the past. The Department received numerous comments from individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or have low vision in response to its 2014 NPRM describing how they were unable to take part in the movie-going experience with their friends and family because of the unavailability of captioning or audio description. Parents with disabilities also complained that they could not answer their children's questions about a movie that they saw together because the parents did not understand what had happened in the movie.

There is also a distributional benefit of this rule as some areas of the United States are more likely to have movie theaters with auditoriums that are already equipped to provide closed movie captioning and audio description than others. As noted previously, the Department understands that persons who live in communities served only by smaller, regional movie theater chains are far less likely to have access to captioned and audio-described movies than individuals with disabilities who live in California, Arizona, or any of the major cities with movie theaters operated by Regal, Cinemark, or AMC. Thus, it is possible that more urban areas, or certain cities or States, may have greater access than other areas, cities, or States, creating or exacerbating geographical differences in opportunities that will be equalized by this rulemaking.

Moreover, while not formally quantified, the Department expects that this guarantee of access for individuals with hearing or vision impairments to movies screened at movie theaters will spur some level of new demand for movie attendance and, therefore, lead to increased box office receipts. Unfortunately, there is little data on the demand for movie-viewing in places of public accommodation by persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, or blind or have low vision, and as such, preparing estimates of the increase in movie theater attendance is difficult.

Because the rule sets specific standards for equally effective communication at movie theaters, it should also lead to a decrease or near elimination of confusion regarding what accommodations movie theaters must provide. The current ADA title III regulation does not contain explicit requirements specifying how movie theaters should meet their effective communication obligations, and this is one of the reasons behind the multiple private lawsuits filed throughout the country. Setting explicit requirements at the national level will lead to harmonization across the country.

And finally, there are additional benefits of the rule that relate to equity and fairness considerations generally. See E.O. 13563 § 1(c) (underscoring the importance of agency consideration of benefits “that are difficult or impossible to quantify, including equity, human dignity, [and] fairness”). The Department expects that the regulation will allow for better integration of persons with disabilities into the American social mainstream. Without captioning and audio description at movie theaters, individuals with hearing and vision disabilities commented that they were unable to participate in the social experience that attending the movies affords. Other commenters noted that movie theaters' common practice of “relegating” movie patrons with hearing and vision disabilities to “special showings” of captioned or audio-described movies at off-peak days and times did not constitute the “full and equal access” guaranteed by the ADA. By requiring all movie theaters to provide closed movie captioning and audio description when exhibiting a digital movie distributed with such features, the Department believes that the ADA's guarantees will be more fully met.

The Department views the most significant benefits of the rule to be those relating to issues of fairness, equity, and equal access, all of which are extremely difficult to monetize, and the Department has not been able to robustly quantify and place a dollar value on those. Regardless, the Department believes that the non-quantifiable benefits justify the costs of requiring captioning and audio description at movie theaters nationwide.

5. Alternatives

As required by Executive Order 12866, the Department considered various alternatives to this rule. Chapter 6 of the Final RA provides detailed information regarding these alternatives. Table 7 below summarizes the cost estimates for the primary analysis and other evaluated alternatives to the regulation.

* Totals may differ due to rounding.