Providing Captions for Video

Captions make your video content accessible to fans who are deaf or hard of hearing, viewers in sound-off environments (think arenas, gyms, or open offices), and anyone watching in a language that isn't their first. They're also a baseline accessibility requirement, not a nice-to-have.

Why captions matter

Under WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.2.2 (Level A), captions are required for all prerecorded video that contains audio. That covers nearly everything partners upload: highlight reels, press conferences, coach interviews, hype videos, and game recaps. Beyond compliance, captions improve engagement — most social and embedded video is watched muted by default, and captioned video is more likely to be watched to completion.

Two ways to provide captions

You have two options, and either one satisfies the accessibility requirement. Pick whichever fits your workflow.

Option 1: Burn captions into the video (open captions). The captions are part of the video image itself and are always visible. This is a good choice when you're editing video in a tool that already supports captioning (Premiere, Final Cut, CapCut, Descript, Adobe Express, etc.) or when you're distributing the same file across social platforms that don't all support sidecar caption files. The trade-off: viewers can't turn them off, and you can't translate them later.

Option 2: Upload a caption file in the CMS (closed captions). Upload your video, then attach a caption file (.vtt or .srt) so the CMS can display captions as a toggleable track. Viewers can turn them on or off, and the captions remain editable. Step-by-step instructions are here: How to Add Captions to Video Uploads (Word)  How to Add Captions to Video Uploads (PDF).

Because either option works, the CMS does not block uploads that lack a caption file — but every video you publish should have captions one way or the other.

Quality standards

Auto-generated captions are a starting point, not a finished product. Before you publish, make sure your captions meet these standards:

• Accuracy. Aim for 99%+. Correct names, jersey numbers, schools, plays, and terminology. "Coach K" should not be "coach kay."

• Timing. Captions should appear as the words are spoken and stay on screen long enough to read (roughly 1–3 seconds per line).

• Speaker identification. When more than one person speaks, label them, [Coach Smith] or [Reporter]

• Non-speech audio. Include important sounds in brackets when they carry meaning: [crowd cheering,] [buzzer,] or [applause].

• Readability (burned-in captions only). Use a sans-serif font, white text with a black background or strong outline, and position captions in the lower third where they won't cover scoreboards, lower-third graphics, or athletes' faces.

Quick checklist before you publish

• [ ] Every video with audio has captions (burned-in or uploaded file).

• [ ] Captions have been reviewed for accuracy — not just auto-generated.

• [ ] Speakers and meaningful sounds are identified.

• [ ] Burned-in captions are readable against the background.

If you're not sure which approach to use for a specific video, reach out to the Accessibility team and we'll help you decide.