A groundbreaking initiative is expanding accessibility in television broadcasting. Public Media Venture Group (PMVG) has announced the implementation of real-time closed caption translation from English to Spanish on its NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) testbed station in Cookeville, Tennessee. This project, a collaboration between PMVG, DigiCAP, XL8, the Korean Radio Promotion Association (RAPA), and PBS station WCTE, showcases the potential of NextGen TV to broaden its reach.
The system, leveraging AI-powered translation technology from XL8, dynamically translates English closed captions into the chosen language (currently Spanish). The translated captions are then seamlessly integrated into the broadcast stream. Marc Hand, president and founder of PMVG, emphasized the significance of this advancement: “It has always been the mission of public broadcasters to serve all members of their communities. Captioning has extended the reach of public broadcasters to hearing-impaired viewers but has — until now — only been available in English. This new service will extend the benefits of closed captions to households where English is not the primary language.”
XL8's CEO, Tim Jung, highlighted the sophisticated nature of the translation engine: “Whenever human language is involved, there will be variables from specific regions or topics. The XL8 translation engine uses a combination of AI and machine learning to enable translations that can take into account local language variations. This is ideal for broadcasters who operate in unique local environments.”
The integration process is streamlined, thanks to DigiCAP, an ATSC 3.0 gateway supplier. Joonyoung Park, DigiCAP Senior Vice President, noted: “Language translation for television closed captions is not new. But LiveCAP’s use of cutting-edge large language model technology for translating captioning of ATSC 3.0 broadcasts provides highly accurate translations at a fraction of the cost of human translation. This has the potential to expand the use of translated closed captions to new television audiences.” Viewers can experience this technology firsthand by tuning into WCTE PBS channel 35 (W35DZ-D) and selecting Spanish-language captions.
PMVG, a collective of 32 public-media organizations, is committed to developing innovative technologies to enhance public broadcasting. Hand further commented: “Many public broadcasters operate in multilingual communities where closed-caption translations could make programming accessible to more viewers. We are excited that PMVG’s ATSC 3.0 testbed in Cookeville is where technology is being developed to extend the reach of public broadcasters to audiences that speak a variety of languages.”