Segment dialogue into caption units that meet reading-speed and line-length limits.
Public Relations & Media
Closed Captioning and Subtitling Standards for Broadcast Media
Learn closed captioning and subtitling for broadcast media: accuracy standards, timing, formatting conventions and accessibility compliance across live and recorded content.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
Captions and subtitles are not an afterthought to broadcast production; regulators, platforms and audiences treat them as a core accessibility requirement with defined accuracy, timing and formatting standards. This course covers both closed captioning for live and recorded broadcast content and subtitling for pre-recorded and translated media. Participants learn how to segment dialogue into readable caption units, apply reading-speed limits, and synchronise captions precisely with speech and scene changes. Sessions cover the differences between live captioning, produced through respeaking or stenography, and offline captioning, produced from a final edit with time to refine accuracy. The course addresses formatting conventions for speaker identification, sound description and on-screen text, and the accessibility standards broadcasters are expected to meet, including accuracy benchmarks for live captioning. Subtitling sessions cover translation constraints specific to timed text, including character limits per line and cultural adaptation of idiom. Participants finish by producing and quality-checking a captioned and subtitled segment against a formal accuracy and formatting checklist.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Synchronise captions accurately with speech, sound effects and scene changes.
Distinguish live captioning techniques, such as respeaking, from offline captioning production.
Apply formatting conventions for speaker identification and non-speech sound description.
Evaluate captioning accuracy against recognised broadcast accessibility benchmarks.
Adapt subtitle translations within timed-text character and duration constraints.
Quality-check a captioned or subtitled segment against a formal accuracy checklist.
Who Should Attend
Broadcast media staff responsible for captioning and subtitling compliance.
Post-production editors preparing accessible versions of recorded programmes.
Live captioners and stenographers working on broadcast and streamed content.
Localisation specialists producing subtitles for international broadcast distribution.
Accessibility officers overseeing broadcaster compliance with captioning standards.
Digital media producers adding captions to video content for online platforms.
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Captioning Fundamentals and Standards
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Accuracy, Timing and Reading Speed
- Apply reading-speed limits when segmenting dialogue into caption units.
- Synchronise caption timing precisely with speech onset and scene changes.
- Calculate acceptable caption duration based on line length and audience reading speed.
- Identify accuracy benchmarks broadcasters use to assess captioning quality.
Session 2Formatting Conventions for Broadcast Captions
- Format speaker identification consistently when multiple speakers appear on screen.
- Describe non-speech sound, such as music or laughter, using standard caption conventions.
- Position captions to avoid obscuring on-screen graphics or important visual content.
- Apply house style rules for punctuation, capitalisation and number formatting in captions.
02Live Captioning Techniques
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Respeaking and Stenography for Live Broadcast
- Explain how respeaking software converts spoken text into live captions.
- Identify the role of stenography in producing verbatim live captions.
- Manage caption delay and latency during a live broadcast segment.
- Correct live captioning errors in real time without disrupting the broadcast feed.
Session 2Managing Live Captioning Quality
- Prepare a glossary of names and technical terms ahead of a live captioned event.
- Monitor live caption accuracy during a broadcast and flag recurring errors.
- Coordinate with a broadcast director when captioning delays affect programme timing.
- Review a live captioning session against accuracy benchmarks after broadcast.
03Offline Captioning and Subtitling Production
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Producing Captions from a Final Edit
- Produce a caption file from a final broadcast edit with full timing accuracy.
- Refine caption segmentation and wording during offline production for readability.
- Export caption files in formats compatible with broadcast and streaming platforms.
- Quality-check offline captions against the final audio and visual edit.
Session 2Subtitle Translation and Adaptation
- Translate dialogue into subtitles within character-per-line and duration limits.
- Adapt idiom and cultural references for a subtitled audience without losing meaning.
- Condense translated dialogue to fit timed-text constraints without losing key information.
- Coordinate subtitle translation with voice-over or dubbing teams when both are produced.
04Accessibility Compliance and Quality Assurance
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Meeting Accessibility Standards
- Assess a broadcast's captioning against recognised accessibility compliance requirements.
- Identify captioning gaps that could expose a broadcaster to compliance complaints.
- Document caption accuracy statistics for accessibility compliance reporting.
- Advise production teams on captioning requirements during programme planning.
Session 2Final Quality Assurance and Delivery
- Run a formal quality-assurance pass on a captioned and subtitled segment before delivery.
- Check caption and subtitle files for technical errors before platform submission.
- Deliver caption and subtitle files in the formats required by broadcast and streaming partners.
- Log quality-assurance findings to improve future captioning production.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
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