Investigation Report No. 3084

ACMA File Ref. / ACMA2013/1205
Broadcaster / Foxtel Cable Television Pty Ltd
Channel / Lifestyle Channel
Type of Service / Subscription television broadcasting service
Name of Program / Grand Designs Australia
Date of Broadcast / 24 June 2013
Relevant Legislation / Section 130ZZ of Part 9D of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (the BSA) [captioning – repeat television programs]
Section 130ZZAA of Part 9D of the BSA [captioning – simulcast television programs]
Paragraph 10(1)(eb) of Schedule 2 to the BSA
Decision Date / 18 November 2013
Decision / No finding section 130ZZ of Part 9D of the BSA
No finding section 130ZZAA of Part 9D of the BSA
No finding paragraph 10(1)(eb) of Schedule 2 to the BSA

Investigation conclusion

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) makes no finding in relation to Foxtel Cable Television Pty Ltd’s compliance with:

  • section 130ZZ of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (the BSA) [provide a captioning service when transmitting a program that had been previously transmitted with a captioning service on the same or another subscription television service provided by the licensee];
  • section 130ZZAA of the BSA [provide a captioning service when transmitting a program that is simultaneously transmitted on another subscription television service provided by the licensee if that program is transmitted with captions on the other service];and
  • paragraph 10(1)(eb) of Schedule 2 to the BSA [comply with captioning provisions under Part 9D of the BSA].

The complaint
On 25 June 2013, the ACMA received a complaint alleging that the licensee failed to provide a captioning service for the programGrand Designs Australia broadcast on 24 June2013. The complaint alleged that captions were missing from the program:

Grand Designs Australia on Foxtel’s Lifestyle Channel was closed captioned on 24 June at 8.30pm, however only about half of the captions appeared and there was no consistency to the pattern of this happening. I watched for about 10 mins and then gave up as it was clearly continuing and made the program unwatchable.

The channel
Foxtel Cable Television Pty Ltd(thelicensee)holds subscription television broadcasting licences to relay its variety of channels. The Lifestyle Channel is both owned and operated by the licensee.
The Lifestyle Channel is a‘General Entertainment’ genre channel (Category A) which attracted a 40 per cent captioning quota for the 2012-13 financial year[1].

The program

Grand Designs Australiais defined on the imdb.com website[2] as a reality / documentary genre program. The following is an excerpt from the foxtel.com.au website[3] :

Hosted by leading Australian Architect Peter Maddison, Grand Designs Australia charts the in-depth process of elaborate design projects undertaken by self-builders – from the initial details of blueprints, to the long and often arduous task of turning the designs into a practical living space.

Grand Designs Australia had been broadcast with a captioning service on the Lifestyle channel, Lifestyle HD (high definition) channel and Lifestyle+2 (time-shifting) channel prior to the transmission of the broadcast in question at 8.30 on 24 June 2013. The broadcast in question was also simultaneously broadcast on the Lifestyle HD channel.
Assessment
This investigation is based on submissions from the complainant and the licensee, and a copy of the transmission master recording of the program from the licensee’s broadcast archive, provided to the ACMA by the licensee. The licensee does not have a copy of the ‘as transmitted’ broadcast at 8.30pm on 24 June 2013on the LifestyleChannel, which is the subject of the complaint.

Issue 1: Did the licensee provide a captioning service for the broadcast of the program?

Relevant provisions

Clause 10 of Schedule 2 of the BSA

Conditions of subscription television broadcasting licences

10 (1)Each subscription television broadcasting licence is subject to the following conditions:

…

(eb) if a provision of Part9D (which deals with captioning of television programs for the deaf and hearing impaired) applies to the licensee—the licensee will comply with that provision;

Part9D of the BSA—Captioning

Division3—Captioning obligations of subscription television licensees

130ZZ Captioning services for repeats of television programs

If:

(a)a subscription television licensee transmits a television program on a subscription television service; and

(b)the program has been previously transmitted:

(i)on the same subscription television service; or

(ii)on another subscription television service provided by the licensee; and

(c)the licensee provided a captioning service for the program when the program was so previously transmitted;

the licensee must provide a captioning service for the television program transmitted as mentioned in paragraph(a).

Note 1:For compliance by subscription television broadcasting licensees, see clause10 of Schedule2.

Note 2: For compliance by subscription television narrowcasting licensees, seeclause 11 of Schedule 2.

130ZZAA Captioning services for simultaneously transmittedtelevision programs

If:

(a) a subscription television licensee transmits a televisionprogram on a subscription television service (the firstservice); and

(b) the program is simultaneously transmitted on anothersubscription television service (the second service) providedby the licensee; and

(c) the licensee provides a captioning service for thetransmission of the program on the first service;

the licensee must provide a captioning service for the televisionprogram transmitted on the second service.

Note 1:For compliance by subscription television broadcasting licensees, see clause10 of Schedule2.

Note 2: For compliance by subscription television narrowcasting licensees, seeclause 11 of Schedule 2.

[...]

Licensee’s submissions

The licensee’s first submission received on 11 July 2013 stated:

[...]

As you are aware we do not have an “as transmitted’ copy but we do have a copy of the program from our broadcast archive...

Please find below a list of previous transmissions of the program. These were all on the Lifestyle channel and the Lifestyle HD channel. We have not listed the transmissions on our Lifestyle+2 channel...

The program was simulcast on Lifestyle HD channel.

[...]

The licensee’s second submission received on 17 July 2013 stated:

[...]

Our Engineering team has conducted a further review of the broadcast platform on the evening of 24 June 2013 to ascertain whether there was any indication of a platform error that could have caused the alleged issue. We can confirm that, as far as Foxtel is aware, there were no planned outages or equipment failures or platform issues which could have caused captions to be removed from the broadcast of the program. Foxtel has reviewed the following:

1.Master Control Room error log reports – there are no logs to indicate that there was an issue with the broadcast of the program on the night.

2.Planned maintenance events log / change schedule – there were no planned events which could have impacted the broadcast of the program.

3.Customer captioning complaints: There are no customer captioning complaints received in relation to this program since 24 June 2013.

4.Customer contact technical logs:There are no technical call records (we have checked the period 23 June to 10 July) that relate to the program in question or the issue of missing captions on programming.

[...]

The licensee’s third submission received on 9 September 2013 stated:

[...]

As previously explained, Foxtel is unable to provide an "as transmitted" recording of the broadcast of the program although we have provided you with a copy of thetransmission master recording of the program in DVD format. The DVD copydemonstrates that the program was prepared and delivered for playout with acompliant captioning service. As such, Foxtel can confirm that there were no issues with the preparation of the captioned content of the program.

Foxtel has no other evidence available to it to suggest that there was any issue affecting the transmission of the captioned program...

In order to support Foxtel's conclusion in relation to the complaint, we have attached ... a detailed description of Foxtel's support and monitoring activities inrelation to the transmission platform; and the processes for escalation of platformissues.

Having reviewed the customer contact logs and complaints logs, Foxtel has no record ofreceiving complaints or technical enquiries relating to captioning on Lifestyle Channelor specifically in relation to the program on 24 June 2013...

Although Foxtel cannot refute a service-affecting event impacting on the transmission ofclosed captions with the program in question, it has been unable to find evidence of anyirregularities in the broadcast of the program within transmission master files, as-runlogs, presentation fault reports, customer contact logs or service monitoring records. Itshould be noted, however, that due to the transitory nature of the alleged defect (ieintermittent captioning), Foxtel cannot eliminate the possibility that minor componentsof the electronic architecture used for the transmission of the Lifestyle channel couldhave caused a fault ofthis type. The nature of these components is such that they arenot capable of detailed diagnostic oversight to provide post-incident analysis (ie theyare not subject to, nor would they normally be subject to, electronic monitoring). Weacknowledge that a minor component of the electronic architecture could havemanifested the fault alleged and left no evidence in our electronic logs. However sinceall components in the architecture were subsequently checked by Foxtel and found tobe functioning effectively, if a fault did occur it would require the component to haveremedied itself.

Due to the extensive monitoring conducted by our technical team; the technical supportof our platform including redundancy; and the feedback and escalation paths noted,Foxtel has no evidence to indicate that the captioning issue alleged by the complainantwas due to a problem in the program as broadcast by Foxtel.

In light of our response outlined ... above, Foxtel is not in a position totake steps to prevent a similar issue occurring in the future. Without evidence of theissue, we cannot take further steps to mitigate.

[...]

Finding

The ACMA makes no finding in relation to the licensee’s compliance with sections 130ZZand 130ZZAA of the BSA.

Reasons

As previously indicated, the licensee does not have a copy of Grand Designs Australia, as transmitted at 8.30pm on Lifestyle on 24 June 2013(the program).

In summary, the licensee has submitted the following in relation to the broadcast of the program:

  1. No complaints about the broadcast in question were received.
  2. The transmission master recording of the program revealed issue-free captioning.
  3. The licensee investigated the alleged issue of missing / intermittent captioning in the program by checking all relevant event processes and system logs for 24 June 2013 including:
  4. Planned work schedule, which revealed no scheduled work that might have impacted on captioning.
  5. Platform monitoring log, which revealed no captioning related issue.
  6. Duty monitoring log, which revealed no captioning related issue.
  7. Although the licensee cannot refute a service-affecting event impacting on the transmission of closed captions with the program in question, it has been unable to find evidence of any irregularities in the broadcast of the program within transmission master files, as-run logs, presentation fault reports, customer contact logs or service monitoring records.

Archived copy of program: The transmission master recording of the program from the licensee’s broadcast archive reveals issue-free captioning. The ACMA assessed whether the program would be comprehensible to a person relying on the captions. This process was undertaken by the ACMA viewing the program with captions and without audio. The ACMA then compared the captions to the sound track. No captioning issue was identified.

Monitoring logs: The licensee provided to the ACMA a detailed and confidential explanation of the licensee’s monitoring of its broadcast services and processes for maintaining quality and availability on 24 June 2013.The licensee concluded that it has no evidence to indicate that the captioning issue alleged by the complainant was due to a problem in the program as broadcast by the licensee.

Conclusion: While the licensee has provided supporting informationof both: no errors logged in relation to the broadcast of the program; and an archived copy of the transmission master recording which does not contain any captioning defects, the ACMA has not been able to view the programas it was transmitted, in order to make an assessment of the captioning.

Accordingly, the ACMA is not in a position to make a finding in relation to whether the licensee complied with subsections 130ZZ and 130ZZAA of the BSA.

Additional Comment: The ACMA is aware that the licensee has commenced implementation of a compliance recording system for all of its captioning channels across the Foxtel platform. The ACMA understands this compliance recording system willbe implemented in the first half of the current financial year (2013-14).

ACMA Investigation Report – Grand DesignsAustralia broadcast on Foxtel’sLifestyle channel
on 24 June 2013

1

[1]Obtained from category nomination information received from Foxtel on 28 June 2013.

[2]

[3]