Descriptive Video Service and the FCC: What Users Need to Know

What a descriptive video service is

A descriptive video service provides audio description for television and video content. Audio description is a spoken narration track that describes visual information that is important for understanding a program, such as actions, gestures, scene changes, on-screen text and other visuals that are not clear from the main dialogue or sounds. It is designed primarily for viewers who are blind or have low vision, although some other viewers also find it useful.

In broadcast television, this narration is usually inserted into natural pauses in a program so that it does not cover the main dialogue. A descriptive video service can be offered as a secondary audio track, sometimes identified through audio language or accessibility settings on a television, set-top box or streaming app.

The FCC's role in descriptive video service

In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission, commonly called the FCC, oversees rules that require certain television broadcast stations and pay-TV providers to offer audio description. These obligations come from the video description rules adopted under federal accessibility law.

The rules apply to covered broadcast stations and multichannel video programming distributors that meet defined market and size requirements. Covered providers must pass through or provide a minimum amount of described programming each calendar quarter. Programs that previously included description when shown elsewhere may also be subject to pass-through requirements.

A provider covered by the rules may be required to make audio description available on a secondary audio channel and ensure that equipment can deliver it. The FCC rules set out the categories of programming that count toward the quarterly amount, but the exact obligations depend on the provider's market ranking, network affiliation and other qualifying factors in the applicable rule version.

How to identify a descriptive video service

A user should not rely only on the channel name to know whether description is active. On many televisions and set-top boxes, the feature may be called audio description, video description, descriptive video, narrative audio, or a language such as Spanish or English with a descriptive label. The available names depend on the device, provider and app.

The accessibility setting may be located inside an audio menu, language menu, setup menu or accessibility menu. The options vary by equipment, so the placement described here is general guidance rather than a guarantee for a particular model.

• Look for an audio or language setting that mentions description, narration or a secondary audio program.
• Try a program that is known to carry description and check whether spoken narration appears during quiet visual scenes.
• If the setting does not appear, check the manual or support information for the specific television, set-top box or streaming device.

Practical limits and what to check

Not every program will have a descriptive video service. A provider may meet an aggregate quarterly minimum, but specific shows, channels, live events or advertisements may not include description. A missing setting during one program does not by itself prove that the provider has failed to meet its overall obligation.

The FCC can receive complaints about accessibility problems with television and video programming. For a practical next step, a viewer should first confirm that the feature is enabled correctly and that the selected program is expected to carry description. The absence of a documented quoted requirement in this guide means that the applicable rule should be checked directly before treating any program as definitively covered.

What this guide does not establish

This guide explains the general function and purpose of descriptive video service rules, but it does not calculate a provider's required minutes, determine a specific program's coverage, confirm current equipment behavior or quote a particular rule version. Those details depend on the provider's qualifying status, the applicable FCC rule version and the device being used.