Artwork & Metadata Requirements, Delivery, Regional Information

Closed caption requirements for transactional movie and TV content

Transactional movie and TV episodes on the Apple TV app in the U.S. must include closed captions. This includes short films and concert films, but be aware of the following special cases:

  • Movies can be delivered with both closed captions and subtitles for the deaf or hard of hearing (SDH). If you are delivering both, you don’t need to include a reason code.
  • Movies that are in English can be delivered with SDH if closed captions are not available and one of the following reason codes is applicable:
    • NEVER_IN_US: Use this reason code for movies that have never been broadcast in the United States.
    • IN_US_NO_CAPTIONS: Use this reason code for movies that have been broadcast in the United States but never with captions.
  • All TV episodes that are in English are required to have closed captions even if they did not broadcast with captions. This includes bonus and promotional content.
  • Movies and episodes that are not in English and have never been broadcast in the United States don’t need captions. These movies will need either English subtitles or SDH. Episodes will need burned in subtitles. Use the reason code NO_CC_SDH_FOREIGN_LANGUAGE_ENGLISH_SUBS for these movies and episodes.
  • iTunes Extras content is required to have closed captions or SDH if your content is available with closed captions or SDH in any other format, including physical formats such as Blu-ray or DVD.

For examples on how to deliver reason codes, see Basic Film Metadata without Closed Captions and TV Episode Metadata without Closed Captions.