Learn about CC on TV and online.
What is CC?
CC, similar to subtitles, is a text transcript of the audio portion of a program as it occurs (either verbatim or in edited form) that appears on your TV and within the Xfinity Stream app and Xfinity Stream portal. Originally designed for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a hearing disability, CC is useful any time the program dialogue is difficult to hear or understand.
Programmers are required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide CC on most English and Spanish programming, including live, near-live, prerecorded, online, and Xfinity On Demand programming. However, not all material requires captioning under the FCC's rules, for example, commercials may have CC but aren’t required to have it.
Xfinity customers with a disability who use accessibility services, including CC, audio description, and Voice Guidance, have access to a specially trained and dedicated customer support team through Comcast's Accessibility Support Center for Customers with Disabilities.
Xfinity customers who rely on non-verbal communication have access to dedicated customer support services through our ASL Support Center.
Which content includes CC?
Most English and Spanish programming should have CC available, including live, near-live, prerecorded, online, and Xfinity On Demand programming. Keep in mind, however, not all material is required to have CC. There are limited instances where content may be excluded. Below are a few examples:
- Programming on new networks.
- Programming that is locally produced, has no repeat value, is of local public interest, like a local city council meeting.
- Commercials that are no more than five minutes long.
- Programming for which the audio is in a language other than English or Spanish.
- Interstitial material, promotional announcements, and public service announcements that are 10 minutes or less in duration.
- Programming that consists primarily of non-vocal music.
For additional information, you can refer to the FCC website.
What quality standards are required for CC?
The FCC requires captions to be accurate, synchronous, complete, and properly placed. Keep in mind, the quality of the CC may vary between prerecorded and live content. Visit the FCC website to learn more.
What’s the difference between CC and open captioning?
CC refers to captioning data carried along with the video content and can be displayed on your television set or decoded by your TV Box when activated. In some scenarios, captions are decoded and displayed on a TV, and in other scenarios, the TV Box decodes the captions and then sends them to the television set to be displayed along with the video.
Open Captioning is part of the video content; therefore, it's viewable to everyone. You can't turn this on or off.