As for placements of the CC on screen: unless the technology has changed, it is the CC provider (sometimes a human operator or, more recently, a computer) at the time of captioning is the one who determines where on the screen the captions will appear, so Dish or any other MVPD really can't do much, if anything about it. Some caption operators are just plain LAZY or barley competent (or overwhelmed with work by the captioning company/organization) that they fail to follow the GUIDELINES (there is NO standard) that is supposed to be CC usually at bottom of screen, but when a title is superimposed on the video, such as one identifying the speaker, the operator is SUPPOSED to then temporarily move the position of the CC so that the superimposed title can be read clearly, sometimes as far as the very top of the screen. Then, once the super is removed, move the CC stream back to the original position. Uh, yeah, this takes a few extra keystrokes, but some captioners are better than others, but it seems to be getting WORSE the last few years. TV network fictional drama and sit-com shows seem to have the best CC's that follow guideline and will move CC when necessary in almost every instance, perhaps, because the studios are involved, although sub-titles are replacing CC for digital connections while retaining CC for the analog outputs, in many cases. Meanwhile, a lot of programming on History or H2, as examples, are filled with programming that seem to constantly have CC's obscuring titles. Further, if the CC changes or scrolls is also determined by the CC operator.
Now, to be fair, I have been referring to PRE-recorded, pre-produced content where and operator does, indeed, have the opportunity to change the position of the CC so that all titles of a video are never obstructed by CC. However, for live broadcasts, one should NOT expect the CC to be moved because there just isn't the opportunity to do this without falling behind. In such cases the CC operator usually places the CC slightly higher so that one can see tickers and other superimposed titles of, say a newscast.
So, the only thing we can do when we see CC's below par or not being moved to a place so as not to obscure titles on a video, is to directly contact the CC organization/company and be specific in telling them what we've observed and to please take corrective action for future programs. Often, the name of the organization or company who preformed the CC service is at the end of the program. However, if it isn't provided, we may have to contact the channel on which the program appeared, complain to them and ask for the name of the organization who performed the CC service and then content them.
Lastly, the KTLA Morning News is suffering TERRIBLE with a horrid CC operator who skips several seconds, sometimes approaching a minute (the stream absolutely STOPS as if the operator is overwhelmed), of dialogue and audio from both live in-studio segments and location reports as well as seeming barely able to keep up as all sorts of errors are apparent. It's s if the operator just give's up trying to do anything and just wait for more easy audio to CC. I have noticed this for the last few months. Yes, KTLA Morning News presents a challenge trying to keep up with talent banter and silly laughing and Sam Rubin's garbled speech (the most UN-broadcast sounding individual on the planet. He doesn't know how to speak for on air), but past CC operators did a great job with what I would call a 95% accuracy. Of course, they are often in another part of the country (it used to be listening by traditional land line telephone that isn't always the most clear, and don't know how to spell our local cities and streets, etc. because of the legacy of having been a part of Spain and Mexico before the USA. It is sometimes annoying, but often a RIOT of laughter seeing how they struggle and PAUSE to spell the place or street and it is so badly Anglicized. It's clear they are in Iowa or Nebraska or somewhere with cheap wages and cheap cost of living.
