VITAC
Encyclopedia
VITAC is one of the United States' largest closed captioning
and media access companies. The company is headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
, with additional facilities in Washington, D.C.
and North Hollywood, California. The company captions over 170,000 hours of programming each year for over 400 customers, including CNN
, MSNBC
, Fox
, and Discovery Communications
. The company has captioned the Olympics. VITAC is a division of Merrill Corporation and employs 250 people.
By 1993, CaptionAmerica had become the country's largest, for-profit captioning company and had broadened its focus. To reflect the change, a new corporate identity was selected. The new name, VITAC (for VITal ACcess), reflected the company's recent growth into new markets, including video description and subtitling.
In 2008, VITAC launched CaptionsON, a public information campaign detailing the benefits of closed captioning. The website associated with the campaign provides advice to viewers with caption problems and contact information for many networks.
VITAC is a member of the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology, COAT, and a coalition of over 240 national, regional, state, and community-based disability organizations. COAT advocates for legislative and regulatory safeguards that will ensure full access by people with disabilities to evolving high speed broadband, wireless and other Internet Protocol (IP) technologies. Part of this initiative is the introduction of new legislation, HR3101.
Federal Communications Commission
Chairman Julius Genachowski
has appointed three VITAC
employees to serve a two-year term on the Video Programming and Emergency Access Advisory Committee (VPEAAC), an advisory committee required by the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (the Accessibility Act).
, National Captioning Institute
, Video Caption Corporation, WGBH
, and Soundwriters, among others.
Closed captioning
Closed captioning is the process of displaying text on a television, video screen or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information to individuals who wish to access it...
and media access companies. The company is headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
Canonsburg is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802....
, with additional facilities in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and North Hollywood, California. The company captions over 170,000 hours of programming each year for over 400 customers, including CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, and Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications, Inc. is an American global media and entertainment company. The company started as a single channel in 1985, The Discovery Channel. Today, DCI has global operations offering 28 network entertainment brands on more than 100 channels in more than 180 countries in 39...
. The company has captioned the Olympics. VITAC is a division of Merrill Corporation and employs 250 people.
History
VITAC was founded in 1986 as CaptionAmerica, a small company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with one captioning contract for KDKA local news and a huge commitment to develop closed captioning services and solutions.By 1993, CaptionAmerica had become the country's largest, for-profit captioning company and had broadened its focus. To reflect the change, a new corporate identity was selected. The new name, VITAC (for VITal ACcess), reflected the company's recent growth into new markets, including video description and subtitling.
Events and milestones
- 1986 – VITAC gets its first contract captioning Pittsburgh's KDKAKDKAKDKA may refer to:* KDKA , a radio station licensed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States* KDKA-TV, a television station licensed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...
nightly news broadcast. - 1988 – VITAC becomes first to caption both Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
- 1990 – VITAC captions its first national news program The Today ShowThe Today ShowToday is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...
. - 1992 – VITAC begins captioning The Tonight Show with Jay LenoThe Tonight Show with Jay LenoThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
. - 1993 – CNN becomes yet another well known client of VITAC.
- 1994 – VITAC begins to provide round the clock captioning for NBC during the O.J. Simpson investigation and trial throughout 1994 and 1995.
- 1995 – ABC becomes a client of VITAC.
- 1997 – VITAC adds all Fox Sports Networks to list of customers.
- 2000 – VITAC helps customers prepare for new U.S. Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications CommissionThe Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) mandates related to captioning. - 2003 – VITAC introduced multilanguage subtitling department, providing translation and subtitling in over 50 languages.
- 2004 – Discovery CommunicationsDiscovery CommunicationsDiscovery Communications, Inc. is an American global media and entertainment company. The company started as a single channel in 1985, The Discovery Channel. Today, DCI has global operations offering 28 network entertainment brands on more than 100 channels in more than 180 countries in 39...
chooses VITAC to caption its 14 television networks. - 2005 – VITAC becomes the exclusive captioning provider for The Weather ChannelThe Weather ChannelThe Weather Channel is a US cable and satellite television network since May 2, 1982, that broadcasts weather forecasts and weather-related news, along with entertainment programming related to weather 24 hours a day...
. - 2006 – VITAC begins offering real-time, simultaneous captioning for sporting events, in English and Spanish.
- 2007 – VITAC offers real-time captioning, special report coverage and customer support to NBC news programs, 10 NBC O&Os and TelemundoTelemundoTelemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
. - 2008 – VITAC provides Spanish captioning for TuTV.
- 2009 – VITAC begins captioning for NHKNHKNHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
, the Japanese broadcast network, as well as HRTVHRTVHRTV may refer to:* Horse Racing TV, a digital cable channel dedicated to horse racing* Harvard-Radcliffe Television , a Harvard University student-run television organization...
and Zuffa - 2010 – VITAC adds QVCQVCQVC is a multinational corporation specializing in televised home shopping. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts in five countries as QVC US, QVC UK, QVC Germany, QVC Japan and – QVC Italy to 200 million households...
to list of exclusive captioned networks.
Community
Viewers who benefit from captioning and other accessibility solutions do not often pay for the service. Captioning is a valuable service for the one in ten Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing and viewers watching television in noisy environments. The service helps young children develop reading skills, and is a valuable learning tool for those learning English as a second language.In 2008, VITAC launched CaptionsON, a public information campaign detailing the benefits of closed captioning. The website associated with the campaign provides advice to viewers with caption problems and contact information for many networks.
VITAC is a member of the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology, COAT, and a coalition of over 240 national, regional, state, and community-based disability organizations. COAT advocates for legislative and regulatory safeguards that will ensure full access by people with disabilities to evolving high speed broadband, wireless and other Internet Protocol (IP) technologies. Part of this initiative is the introduction of new legislation, HR3101.
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
Chairman Julius Genachowski
Julius Genachowski
Julius Genachowski is an American lawyer and businessman. He became Federal Communications Commission Chairman on June 29, 2009.-Education:Genachowski grew up in Great Neck, New York. He attended yeshiva and studied in Israel...
has appointed three VITAC
VITAC
VITAC is one of the United States' largest closed captioning and media access companies. The company is headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, with additional facilities in Washington, D.C. and North Hollywood, California. The company captions over 170,000 hours of programming each year for...
employees to serve a two-year term on the Video Programming and Emergency Access Advisory Committee (VPEAAC), an advisory committee required by the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (the Accessibility Act).
Competitors
VITAC is the nation’s largest provider of real-time captioning for nationally broadcast programs. Competitors include Caption Colorado, CaptionMaxCaptionMax
CaptionMax is one of the largest North American media accessibility companies. It is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with additional locations in New York City and Burbank, California...
, National Captioning Institute
National Captioning Institute
The National Captioning Institute is a non-profit organization that provides closed captioning for television and films. Created in 1979 and headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, the organization was the first to caption live TV and home video, and holds the trademark on the display icon featuring a...
, Video Caption Corporation, WGBH
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
, and Soundwriters, among others.