WHA?!?!?!?!? OK, that's it, the tv's going out the window. Well, maybe if I'm still mad as hell in an hour. I'm deaf, and I know that if there are not captions, I can forget trying to actually understand all of a show.
I did a quick google search to refresh my memory, regarding captioning laws, and found this affirmation from the US House of Legislatures.
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/foia/tal400.txt
It's a long read, but the pertinent section seems to be as follows:
At least four Federal requirements deal with the provision
of closed captioning: titles II, III, and IV of the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA), and section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
With regard to commercial operations, the title III
regulation, section 36.307, p. 35598, does not require that
video-tape rental establishments stock closed-captioned video
tapes, although the most recent offerings in those establishments
are, in fact, closed-captioned. Further discussion of this point
can be found on p. 35571 of the title III regulation.
Movie theaters are not required by title III to present
open-captioned films. However, other public accommodations that
impart verbal information through soundtracks on films, video
tapes, or slide shows are required to make such information
accessible to persons with hearing impairments. Captioning is
one means to make information accessible to individuals with
disabilities. This concept is explained on page 35567 of the
title III regulation.
Title IV of the ADA requires that any televised public
service announcements that are wholly or partially funded by the
Federal government include closed captioning of the verbal
content of the announcement. However, individual television
stations are not required to supply the closed captioning for any
announcements that do not include closed captioning. For more
information on this requirement, please contact the Federal
Communications Commission, the agency responsible for
implementing and enforcing title IV.
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It is expensive to try and caption stuff... I had a friend who attempted to make a closed captioned version of southpark for me, and it literally took him a couple days to make the first minute of dialogue, because all the timing is based off the beginning of the show or broadcast.
The federal grants are a way for companies to get the government to help alleviate the costs of the captioning, but there are many more entities than are dollars available to give out.