Channel 4 is now providing subtitles on its main channels for viewers on Sky, Virgin Media and Freeview as well as on All 4 and Channel4.com.
The broadcaster will gradually increase the number of shows with subtitles, with The Great British Bake Off, The Last Leg and Gogglebox, as well as live television including Channel 4 News and F1 racing, being some of the first.
The announcement comes after the channels and on-demand services were affected on Saturday 25 September 2021, when the fire suppression system was triggered at Red Bee Media, the company that broadcasts them.
To newly provide subtitles, Channel 4 has had to change the way it broadcasts its channels, linking its emergency back-up to Arqiva’s equipment in Broadcast Centre.
Subtitles will, however, remain unavailable for Freesat viewers due to the different method used to distribute content to the platform. Although Channel 4 has pledged to restore the service as soon as possible.
In the RTS Cambridge Convention 2021 session, ‘Twenty per cent’, Sinéad Burke, Alicia Dalrymple, David Proud and Briony May Williams discussed TV’s vital need to improve accessibility. Watch the full session here: bit.ly/3BeVsLW
