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THE WEATHER CHANNEL
CHOOSES VITAC, INCREASES CAPTIONED HOURS
Dedication to closed captioning lauded by deaf community
October 1, 2005 -- The Weather Channel, long dedicated to
deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers, will increase the amount
of programming it captions effective October 1st, 2005. Working
with VITAC, the nation's leading closed captioning company,
The Weather Channel will caption 21 hours of regular programming
per day, exceeding the hours the FCC requires networks to
caption. In addition, The Weather Channel and VITAC will provide
captioning for breaking weather emergency broadcasts sent
to local affected areas as part of TWC's WeatherStar system.
"We deliver information that helps people prepare for
and understand the weather and how it may affect their lives,"
said Debora Wilson, president, The Weather Channel Companies.
"There are millions of Americans who are deaf and hard
of hearing and we are fully committed to bringing them ready
access to the reliable, expert weather information that consumers
expect from The Weather Channel. We are delighted to work
with VITAC, offering closed captioning of that information,
along with our high quality maps and graphics."
Most of The Weather Channel's programming is broadcast live,
meaning captions must be created on the spot by highly trained
realtime captioners. Popular primetime programming like "Storm
Stories" will be captioned in advance of air, providing
100% accurate captioning for the Weather Channel and its viewers.
VITAC, which captioned over 70,000 hours of programming in
2004, will provide both services as part of a contract to
begin at 5:00 a.m. on October 1 st , 2005.
"VITAC has provided quality captions for broadcast and
cable networks for 20 years," said Pat Prozzi, President
and CEO of VITAC. "We're thrilled to have been chosen
as the new caption provider for The Weather Channel and look
forward to sharing our expertise with their viewers."
Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers across the country will
benefit from increased captioning on The Weather Channel.
"When I want in-depth information on the weather, that's
where I look," says Carl Jensema, Vice President of the
Institute for Disabilities Research and Training. "When
a hurricane threatens, we keep our TV continuously tuned to
the Weather Channel. Without captioning, deaf people would
lose this critical source of information. We really appreciate
the Weather Channel's efforts to caption their material."
About The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel, a 24 hour weather network, is seen in
more than 89 million U.S. households. Its Web site, weather.com,
reaches more than 25 million unique users per month. It content
is currently ranked among the 10 most popular Websites in
the U.S. by Nielsen//Net Ratings. The Weather Channel also
operates Weatherscan, (a 24 hour, all local weather network
available to almost 22 million households), The Weather Channel
Radio Network, The Weather Channel Newspaper Services, and
is the leading weather information provider for emerging technologies.
The Weather Channel is owned by Landmark Communications, Inc.,
a Norfolk, VA-based, privately held media company.
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About VITAC
VITAC is a leading provider of captioning, multi-language
subtitling services, and video descriptive services with offices
in North Hollywood, CA; Arlington, VA and Canonsburg, PA.
VITAC provides closed captioning for broadcast networks, cable
TV, home video, DVD, teleconferences and Internet programs
worldwide. Among the company's largest clients are BBC, BET,
CBS, CNN, Court TV, Discovery Networks, FOX, FSN, HSN, MTV
Networks, NBC, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros., Verizon and
the Federal Aviation Administration. WordWave is a privately
held, global provider of litigation support, captioning and
subtitling, digital recording and transcription services.
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Contact:
Heather York
703-807-2763
heather-y@vitac.com
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