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

The rule also requires that when movie theaters publish movie listings at the box office and other ticketing locations, on Web sites and mobile apps, in newspapers, and over the phone to inform patrons of show times, such communications must also indicate which screenings will be captioned or audio-described.  Based on independent research and public comments, the Department expects that the additional cost of noting which screenings will be captioned or audio-described is de minimis when a movie theater is already preparing a communication listing movie titles and screening times.

As previously discussed in Section 1.4.3, 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, and the Department’s research indicates that the inclusion of such abbreviations does not increase the cost of advertisements.  Moreover, the movie exhibition industry has largely moved away from print advertising in favor of digital advertising.  As one commenter indicated, digital advertising allows movie theaters to add information concerning the availability of captioning and audio description without much difficulty or cost. 

The Department acknowledges that movie theaters will likely need to add this information to their existing listings of movie showings and times on a regular basis until such time that all movies are distributed with these features.  Based on research conducted by the Department, we believe that information in the listings related to the availability of closed movie captions and audio description would only need to be updated when a new movie with these features is added to the schedule.  This will vary as some movies stay on the schedule for longer periods of time than other movies.  However, since movie theaters regularly update their listings with respect to the list and times of movies they are showing, the Department believes that the additional amount of time and cost it takes to add information concerning the availability of captioning and audio description remains insignificant.