ABSTRACT
This chapter reports on a pilot scheme in reception research focusing on the first and so far only closed subtitling model available on Brazilian open television and provided by its powerful television network, Rede Globo. Experiments with a small sample of deaf and non-deaf viewers from the city of Fortaleza, in the Northeast of Brazil, suggest that the Globo model is not as effective as might be. This pilot study suggests that deaf viewers have to offer to television networks that make use of closed subtitles, and the models used by these networks closely tailored to the needs of the deaf community. The study provides important guidelines for future reception research. The experiment reveals that preferences and expectations of deaf viewers hardly coincide with those of non-deaf viewers, and in some cases neither of them coincides with the model proposed by Globo television. The Portuguese channel RTP, which hires deaf professionals to review closed subtitles produced by non-deaf translators.
