Closed-captioning equipment coming to some movie theaters

From: WMAR (ABC2), MD - May 11, 2004

Undated - In a legal victory for deaf advocacy groups, 12 movie theaters in Maryland, Virginia and D-C will be required to install closed-captioning equipment to make the films accessible to deaf movie-goers.

It's part of an agreement settling a lawsuit against the A-M-C and Loews theater chains. The three Maryland theaters included in the settlement are the Loews Rio 18 in Gaithersburg, the Loews Wheaton Plaza and the Loews Centerpark in Beltsville.

Advocates for the deaf say once theater owners see the positive response from deaf patrons, more theaters will want to add the equipment.

But an attorney for the theaters says the equipment is expensive -- costing 15-thousand dollars for each auditorium in a theater complex.

The equipment will allow customers to read text from a portable screen, which attaches to the seat's cup holder.

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
©2004 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved.