When we think of closed captioning, we often imagine tv shows, live newscasts, maybe even classroom lectures or speeches -- programs that are scheduled in advance. There is a solid expectation that the programs airing have been given accessibility forethought for all audiences, and we embrace that reliability. But what happens when the unexpected occurs? When tornadoes hit your town, when tragedy strikes in public spaces, or even when news is so amazing and substantial that it covers all the airwaves?  

We consider Emergency Coverage anything with less than 24 hours’ notice, but hourly we receive calls for a captioner as soon as possible due to the unforeseen. NCI is here for EVERY circumstance and we’re FCC and ADA compliant. We’re incredibly proud of the emergency work we’ve provided throughout the decades. It’s an honor to be trusted to supply life-saving information to communities at a moment’s notice.

How Does Emergency Captioning Work?

The great thing about our NCI services are that they are extremely client friendly. Once you’ve set up with us as a client, it’s literally as simple as calling our 24/7 Scheduling hotline and begin receiving captions in 15 minutes or less. Your captions can be provided in one of two ways, depending on what service(s) you set up with us!

• We have a team of highly-trained, specialized, and accurate captioners standing by for emergencies. The schedulers will immediately assign a captioner in our system which will automatically display to them your connection information. They’ll connect first, unless otherwise specified, then immediately call your Master Control to check-in so you know they’re ready! While they’re checking in, captioners will also be doing online research to accurately display any names, counties, and subjects that may not already be under the client’s dictionary built by NCI. We are a well-oiled machine and driven to provide the highest captioning accuracy possible!

• If you’re looking for something with the same reliability but with a more economical price point than a live captioner, our Automated Captioning Solution, CaptionSentry, would be an ideal match for many programs. With a latency of 2-4 seconds and high accuracy, when audio specifications are met, CaptionSentry can be controlled on your end with an NCIStream device OR can be controlled on our end to minimize your tasks. Just call us for Emergency Captioning and we’ll promptly turn it on. You can watch an intro video about CaptionSentry here.

If you need Emergency Captioning, we are here to help!

Follow these 5 quick steps to get set up as a client and use NCI Services!

• Submit the following online form: https://www.ncicap.org/request-a-quote-2 

• Our marketing team will reach out to chat 

• Fill out the given paperwork 

• Run connectivity tests with our 24/7 Engineering Department Hotline 

• Call our hotline when you need us!