Business & Tech
Century 25 to Equip Closed Captioning Devices for Deaf Moviegoers
Due to a lawsuit, Cinemark, which has four theaters in Alameda County, including the Century 25 in Union City, will install closed captioning equipment for the deaf and hard of hearing in all its California theaters by mid-2012.
Cinemark, one of the nation's largest movie chains, said this week it will install closed captioning equipment for the deaf and hard of hearing in all its theaters in California by mid-2012, settling a disability-rights lawsuit filed in Alameda County late last year.
The suit was filed in December by Disability Rights Advocates, a nonprofit legal center in Berkeley, on behalf of the Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ADLA). It accused Cinemark of violating the Americans With Disabilities Act and state disability law by failing to offer a closed-captioning option to hearing-impaired moviegoers.
The settlement "makes first-run movies available to millions of patrons who are deaf and hard-of-hearing in California," said Kevin Kniestrick, a lawyer with Disability Rights Advocates, in a statement.
Texas-based Cinemark said it is using a wireless captioning device attached to a bendable support arm that fits into seat cup holders, with a visor that shields the caption from other customers. Patrons can pick up the device in the lobby by request.
The company said it has already equipped about half of its 64 California theaters with closed captioning, installing the equipment in theaters as they are transformed from film to digital.
The Century 16 theater in San Leandro is currently setting up the system, which should be available to moviegoers by this summer, while the theater in Union City is also beginning the installation process.
Other Cinemark-owned theaters in Alameda County include the Cinedome 7 in Newark and Century theater in Hayward, but neither could be reached for comment.