On December 20, 2000, The Weather Channel filed a letter with the
Commission regarding "Request for Clarification Regarding the Aural Tone
Requirements of the Commission's Video Description Rules, 47 C.F.R. §
79.2(b)(1)(iii)."  This rule states that "[e]mergency information that is
provided in the video portion of programming that is not a regularly
scheduled newscast, or a newscast that interrupts regular programming, must
be accompanied by an aural tone."  The Commission has explained that, if a
broadcast station or multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD)
provides emergency information through a crawl or scroll, it must accompany
that information with an aural tone. 

The Weather Channel seeks clarification that "it is in compliance with the
aural tone requirement in 79.2(b)(1)(iii) of the rules when it provides an
aural tone prior to the first time that it provides a particular crawl or
scroll containing emergency information."  The Weather Channel thus seeks
clarification that it need not accompany each otherwise identical crawl or
scroll with an aural tone.   In the alternative, The Weather Channel seeks
an exemption from the rules because it asserts that accompanying each crawl
or scroll with an aural tone would constitute an undue burden.

Comments are due on or before February 27, 2001 and Reply comments are due
on or before March 9, 2001.

The Weather Channel's petition along with the public notice can be viewed
in its entirety on the Disabilities Rights Office web site at:
www.fcc.gov/cib/dro. 

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this request.

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issues, please do not hesitate to contact us at [log in to unmask] 
              The Disabilities Rights Office