Not if you believe the results of this independent survey conducted on behalf of CaptionsON.  I found this information on their website and am pasting it here for all to see:

In February 2008, a non-compensated online survey was conducted by Decision Analyst, Inc., on behalf CaptionsON. 

The purpose of the research was to ascertain current attitudes toward, and usage of, closed captioning from a national perspective in order to enhance the design of the campaign. In order to obtain a more substantive profile of the respondents, questions regarding viewing patterns were included in the survey vehicle as well as standard demographic information.

Key Findings: Eight in ten TV viewers have been exposed to captions. 50% of those exposed to captions proactively turn captions on some percent of their viewing time. Less than 1/5 of them have seen captions online (17%). Less than 1/3 of them report having seen captions in TV advertising (31%). 70% of those who never use captions said they would turn on captions if they knew about all the benefits of captions. Among those who are under 45 the percentage jumps to 81%. But unfortunately 47% of those who responded, when asked if they were unhappy with the quality of captions, said “yes.” And 45% of that group said that they change the channel/turn the program off when they are unhappy with the captions.

About the Sample:

The demographics of the respondents closely parallel U.S. Census estimates of the population:

Gender:

• 49% Men
• 51% Women

Marital Status:

• 54% Married
• 23% Single
• 15% Divorced/Widowed
• 8% Living with Partner

Age:

• 8% (18 – 24)
• 20% (25 – 34)
• 21% (35 – 44)
• 11% (45 – 49)
• 10% (50 – 54)
• 14% (55 – 64)
• 16% (65+) 
  

Residence by regions of the country:

• 19% Northeast
• 22% Midwest
• 36% South
• 22% West

Income levels (annual/total household):

• 24% (Under $25,000)
• 11% ($25,000 - $34,900)
• 14% ($35,000 - $49,900)
• 9% ($50,000 - $59,000)
• 11% ($60,000 - $74,900)
• 14% ($75,000 - $99,900)
• 17% (Over $100,000)

The sample provided a close analog of the U.S. audience for television programming:

• 97% watch televised entertainment in a typical week.
• 94% watch news programming in a typical week.
• 74% report watching televised sporting events in a typical week.

20% of households include someone who is deaf/hard of hearing or has some difficulty hearing.

26% of households include someone who is impacted by captioning:

• children/adults learning to read
• an individual(s) learning English as a second language
• someone acting as a caregiver to an elderly relative or individual requiring assisted care

Of particular interest to me, was the finding that 70% of respondents said they would turn captions on if they knew all the benefits of captions, and that number jumps to 81% in the under 45 years of age market.  Why is this so interesting?  Because the under 45 age market is the primary driver of the cinema consumer market.  And before anyone thinks this survey was driven by the deaf or hard of hearing, please note that only 20% of the households of the respondents had someone who is deaf/hard of hearing or has some difficulty hearing.

Clearly the attitudes, like the times, they are a'changing.  The constant argument of the cinema industry that hearing audiences don't like to attend Open Captioned movies is looking somewhat rebutted by this survey.  Don't get me wrong, I understand it is not a survey of the majority of the population, but it DOES support what I have heard from many deaf people who have asked other hearing people what they thought, and it supports what hearing people have told me personally.  The most important thing to note here, is that these kinds of numbers are generated after educating or showing the hearing populance of the benefits of captioning.  I've said it countless times, EDUCATION IS THE KEY to coming to a common understanding and agreement in the pursuit of better access for the deaf and hard of hearing at the movies and in other media formats (such as online captions of web videos).  It is nice to see that more research is becoming available as of late in support of captions.  While this information pertains to television viewing, a very reasonable argument can be made that the majority of the numbers would transalate to the cinema viewing experience.  And since the movie industry (both studios and theaters alike) either can't or won't make their alleged numbers and the method of sampling public, I believe it safe to say at this point that their arguments about the hearing audience not liking captions is unsubstantiated or flawed in it's gathering.

As I said at the beginning of this piece, this information was gathered from the CaptionsON website.  For more information, please visit their site at: 

http://captionson.com/capsMatter_research.asp

Eddie