James R | On 19, Oct 2021

Channel 4 has issued an update about its ongoing technical difficulties, and its efforts to restore its access services – and the current expectation is for that to be completed in a month’s time.

On Saturday 25th September, the fire suppression system was triggered at Red Bee Media, the company that broadcasts Channel 4’s services. The building was evacuated and no one was injured, but the incident significantly affected Channel 4’s TV broadcasts, with everything going temporarily off-air. Since then, the broadcaster has continued to see disruption on its channels – and also on its on-demand service, All 4.

One of the biggest issues is Channel 4 not being able to provide access services – subtitles, audio description or sign language support – for programmes broadcast since the incident. At the moment, it cannot provide audio description or sign language services at all, as the services were “irretrievably lost” during the incident and they won’t be restored until the whole set-up has been moved to a new system.

“We know that this is incredibly frustrating for you and your families who rely on these services to watch your favourite programmes,” said Channel 4 in a statement yesterday.

“We have focused on a solution for subtitles. This is a complex job, as a large number of different systems at Channel 4 and beyond have to talk to each other to make this work. Until now, all testing has been overnight as we couldn’t risk coming off-air again. However, we are beginning to make progress. For example, some of you might have noticed we have been testing subtitles on More4 and Channel 4 during the day.”

Last Friday, the broadcaster managed to air live subtitles during its Stand Up to Cancer programme.

“This week, we will begin to add subtitles for some of the programmes you have missed – Gogglebox, the Great British Bake Off and its Extra Slice – on All 4. However, this is a very labour-intensive process, so it isn’t possible to make every programme available simultaneously,” added Channel 4. “We know this isn’t good enough, but it’s a start.”

“We have been rebuilding the system over the last few weeks, and there is still a considerable amount of work to be done,” it continued. “We cannot rush this and run the risk of something going wrong. Something like this needs to be installed slowly to ensure our channels don’t come off air and to prevent something like this happening again. That means that full access services might not be available until the middle of November. Clearly, if we can do anything to speed up this process, we will.”

“We know that this will be incredibly disappointing to everyone, but we do need to get this right,” the statement concluded. “In the meantime we will continue to put our most popular programmes that you have missed, with subtitles on All 4.”

 

Channel 4 accessibility problems continue

14th October 2021

Channel 4 has apologised once again for its ongoing accessibility issues, with subtitles, audio description and sign language support widely unavailable for almost three weeks.

On Saturday 25th September, the fire suppression system was triggered at Red Bee Media, the company that broadcasts Channel 4’s services. The building was evacuated and no one was injured, but the incident significantly affected Channel 4’s TV broadcasts, with everything going temporarily off-air. Since then, the broadcaster has continued to see disruption on its channels – and also on its on-demand service, All 4.

While initially the problems ranged from audio problems and disclaimer card disrupting the broadcasts, one consistent issue has been the broadcaster’s inability to offer programmes with audio description, subtitles or sign language

“We are really sorry that viewers still can’t watch our programmes with subtitles, audio description or sign language support. We know how important these access services are to you,” said Channel 4 in a statement yesterday.

“We have always been committed to supporting viewers with hearing or sight impairment very seriously, and realise how frustrating it is that you can’t enjoy your favourite programmes. The reason we can’t currently provide access services is because of the severity of the incident… When we transferred to our emergency back-up, the system that was meant to provide access services, also failed.”

“Our engineers have been working around the clock to fix the problem. It is a priority for Channel 4. However, it is a complex process and will take some time,” added the broadcaster.

Channel 4 had one bit of consolation to offer: when access services are fully restored, it will make sure that all the programmes that viewers missed will be available to watch with subtitles, audio description and sign language support. As for when that will be, though, answers are still forthcoming.

 

Channel 4 apologises for ongoing technical issues

7th October 2021

Channel 4 has issued an apology for the ongoing technical issues that have plagued the broadcaster for the past two weeks.

On Saturday 25th September, the fire suppression system was triggered at Red Bee Media, the company that broadcasts Channel 4’s services. The building was evacuated and no one was injured, but the incident significantly affected Channel 4’s TV broadcasts, with everything going temporarily off-air. Since then, the broadcaster has continued to see disruption on its channels – and also on its on-demand service, All 4.

Most notably, The Great British Bake Off was hit with audio problems last week, with problems also impacting its subtitles. That continued this week, leaving a significant number of viewers unable to follow the programme due to a lack of subtitles, and other viewers took to social media to complain that they couldn’t see the programme at all – instead, they were greeted by a disclaimer card telling them that the programme would continue shortly.

Other shows such as Taskmaster, Gogglebox and Married at First Sight UK have also been impacted, with the latter notably airing the wrong episode. The problems are somewhat haphazard, however, with not everyone experiencing the same technical difficulties at the same time, and programmes at times loading successfully on All 4 – but still not carrying subtitles or audio description.

Now, Channel 4 has officially released a statement on the matter.

“Even though all our channels are now broadcasting again, the problems caused by the incident means we are still experiencing issues with programmes and adverts as well as with audio and video quality,” said the broadcast. “Since the incident we have also continued to have problems with our All 4 service and are not able to offer any programmes with audio description, subtitles or sign language.”

“So, we would like to apologise for any problems you might still be experiencing as you watch your favourite shows. We want to reassure you that we are doing everything we can to return to a normal service as quickly as possible,” the broadcaster added. “Until then, bear with us if things don’t always go to plan. We are trying our best.”

As for when the problems might be fully resolved, that’s not yet clear, with the launch of Walter Presents series Witch Hunt delayed from its planned date of 17th October, when it would have aired on Channel 4 and also been available in full on All 4.

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