Channel 4 release another statement about the ongoing ‘technical problems’.
In the latest announcement the broadcaster, today noted that “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.”
The issues arose following an incident on Saturday 25 September when Channel 4’s channels and on-demand services were significantly affected when the fire suppression system was triggered at Red Bee Media, the company that broadcasts their services. The building was evacuated and no one was injured, but as a result, Channel 4’s offering along with the BBC, Channel 5, BT Sport and S4C all went off air. Some have come back from the technical disaster better than others, with Channel 4 still having issues including a number of their music channels still off the air, showing ‘The Box’ instead.
“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 on Saturday 25 September 2021. When we transferred to our emergency back-up, the system that was meant to provide access services, also failed.” – Channel 4
There was silence from the public service corporation until The Last Leg publically shamed the channel about its lack of subtitles, signing and audio description. This led to a statement on October 5th. The Last Leg, which airs on Channel 4, once again took the broadcaster to task about the failure to restore the service once more on last week’s edition.
“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. However, when access services are fully restored, Channel 4 will make sure that all the programmes that you have missed will be available to watch with subtitles, audio description and sign language support.” – Channel 4
