Subtitles and BSL translation still missing from Channel 4’s channels after 9 DAYS | Red Bee Media turn down interview | C4 issue apology

Over the last week, we have reported twice on the problems at access provider Red Bee Media, which has led to subtitles and BSL translation disappearing from Channel 4 channels (such as E4 and Film4), and also from Channel 5.

Deaf viewers are still in the dark about when exactly these issues will be resolved, and sadly, as you’ll see from our updates below, it doesn’t look like the problems are going to be resolved very soon.

How the issues began

A reminder of how this started. Red Bee Media has said it experienced “activation of the fire suppression systems” at the company’s headquarters in London on Saturday 25th September, which led to the problems.

The company tweeted an apology on Friday, but the crisis has now entered its ninth day. When will it be resolved? Will it be a few days, a week, Christmas? Deaf viewers have little idea.

Red Bee turns down interview request

I asked Jesper Wendel, the Head of Communications at Red Bee Media, for a Zoom interview so that deaf viewers could hear directly from the company about the issues, and so that we could ask about how the problems came about and when they will be fixed.

This request was declined. Jesper said:

“I will have to decline an interview since we wouldn’t be able to share any more information than we already have… We share the frustration, and we are sorry for the disruption. But since we are still working to restore all services, we want to avoid speculation and will wait to give further details.”

Channel 4 apologise

Meanwhile, Channel 4 issued an apology on their website today. The statement again gave no sense of the timescale of when these issues will be resolved. It said:

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. 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. Until then, bear with us if things don’t always go to plan. We are trying our best.

At the end of last week, I was also in touch with several of the UK’s leading deaf charities, asking for more information about what they are doing about this situation.

RNID release further information and reveal the action they’re taking

The RNID released a detailed web story today, saying:

Unfortunately, from what broadcasters have told us, it looks like subtitling is not going to be back to normal for a while yet and, in summary, they are asking us to bear with them. Please be assured we will keep pushing for answers and update this page as we hear more.

Within the RNID web story, there is a response from Channel 5 which gives more details about the issues:

“To offer further detail to your questions, I’m afraid our broadcast partners have lost access to all the storage that holds the media that they need to use to create our Subtitles and Audio Description, this also extends to adding subtitles live.

“Because the process to fix the situation is entirely manual, it is causing delays with the creation and delivery of subtitles to the Playout suite. That said, we were able to get subtitles & audio description sorted for some of our programming last night and are gradually getting back on course.”

The web story from RNID also details what they’re asking broadcasters and also that they’ve contacted Ofcom about the issues:

We’ve contacted the broadcasters affected by the subtitling problem to ask them:

1. How long are the problems likely to continue?
2. What can they tell us about the cause of the problem and plans for improving the future resilience of the system?
3. What are their plans to make the content that has been inaccessible available? Will they be repeated on linear channels or through on-demand services?

We have also reached out to the media regulator, Ofcom, to ask what they are doing about these problems and to find out how many complaints they are getting. Ofcom have assured us that they are in contact with broadcasters and the other organisations responsible for providing the service. We will share any further updates from Ofcom on this page.

Ofcom tweet (5th October)

Ofcom have tweeted about the issues, but there’s little new information:

Given the concerning impact on people with hearing and visual impairments, we're in regular contact with the affected broadcasters to make sure they're taking steps to restore these access services as quickly as possible. 2/2

— Ofcom (@Ofcom) October 5, 2021

NDCS statement (5th Oct)

Beccy Forrow, Campaigner at the National Deaf Children’s Society, said:

“The lack of subtitles and BSL translation is extremely disappointing because they not only help deaf young people to watch TV, they also make them feel included and provided for. Without these tools, thousands are missing out on their favourite programmes and the chance to chat about them with friends and family.

“There’s been a real lack of communication about when services will resume and it’s simply unacceptable. We’ve asked the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5 for an update, but received no reply.

“Sadly, this is yet another chapter in the lack of accessible TV and news that deaf young people face every day. The longer this apathy and inaction continues, the more questions will rightly be asked about how much of a priority accessibility really is.”

Deaf viewers’ tweets

Meanwhile, deaf viewers continue to tweet about their frustration. Here are just a few of them:

Please get this sorted ASAP! It’s been 9 days since this happened. As a deaf person I rely entirely on subtitles – it’s discrimination. Shouldn’t happen in this technological age🙄😡😡🤦🏼‍♀️

— Diane (@Diane64716522) October 4, 2021

Another example of second-rate treatment of minority groups and poor accessibility. Where’s the contingency plan @RedBeeMedia ? If the sound had gone off, media would be all over it, massive public uproar would ensue and fixing it would be made a priority. Totally unacceptable. https://t.co/A6zNcFLBQa

— Ed Shovelton 💙 (@e5hov) October 3, 2021

I have no idea how they will ever be able to resolve this – already there are thousands programmes missed on the channel 4 12 channels platform to date. And the longer it goes on, more episodes missed. Cant put them all on catch up :/ So we “just” have to accept our losses?

— Michelle Hedley 💙 (@Shelle02) October 4, 2021

We will continue to follow this story and share updates with you.

Charlie Swinbourne is the editor of Limping Chicken, as well as being an award-winning screenwriter and director who won an RTS Yorkshire award for his sketch show Deaf Funny, and has also written for Casualty, Moving On, and CBBC. He has also written journalism for the Guardian, Mirror, and BBC Online.