‘SORT IT OUT’ Adam Hills sends out subtitles message on The Last Leg | Letter sent to broadcasters from Deaf and Disabled People in TV

Posted on October 8, 2021 by



You can read all our articles about the Channel 4 subtitles crisis by clicking here.

After two weeks, subtitles still haven’t returned to Channel 4 or it’s related channels, and things are starting to escalate.

Many deaf people tweeted the flagship C4 disability comedy show The Last Leg today asking them if it was okay that subtitles weren’t appearing on the channel, and the show’s presenter Adam Hills responded to this with an accessible message, live on TV:

Earlier today, Red Bee Media said they were ‘looking at all options’ in a statement posted on Twitter about the continuing problems. Disappointingly, the statement gave no timescale for when things might start to improve.

Caroline O’Neill, one of the Directors of the Deaf & Disabled People in TV (DDPTV) group, representing over 1000 members who are all deaf and/or disabled, has sent a letter to Ofcom, Channel 4, Channel 5, The Times, Broadcast magazine, Deadline and Variety.

The letter points out that over 7.5 million people depend on subtitles and are not able to access their programmes. It also says that many programmes are still being advertised as having access, when they don’t, and lists the number of high-profile programmes people are missing out on.

Crucially, the letter says again that the lack of timescale for restoring access is a major issue.

The letter says:

To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to you on behalf of Deaf & Disabled People in TV (DDPTV) and as a subtitle consumer to raise urgent concerns as to the lack of subtitling on Channel 4 and Channel 5 since Saturday 25th September.  We understand from other parties that audio description and in-vision have also been similarly impacted.
We’re aware that on the Saturday 25th September, Red Bee Media experienced, “activation of the fire suppression systems”, which has subsequently led to this lack of access services.
Vague apologies have been made by both Red Bee Media and Channel 4 – but we still have no sense of the timescale as to when these services will be restored, nor have we had any reassurances that preventive measures have been put in place to stop this happening again.
To give a sense of scale, the latest research we could find from Ofcom suggested 7.5 million people are subtitle users.  Subtitles are used by deaf and hard of hearing consumers, autistic people and people for whom English is a second language.  Not only that, they are used by people who don’t want to disturb households, those using public transport or to help decipher regional accents and mumbling.  That’s 7.5 million people, potentially more, who have no access to subtitles, and this doesn’t take into account those who use audio description or in-vision.
From what we can see, Channel 4 is more widely affected and across all platforms, with Channel 5 on a smaller scale.  Programmes affected include, but are not restricted to:
Great British Bake Off, Hunting the Football Trolls, Googlebox, Location Location Location, The Last Leg, Hollyoaks, Married at First Sight, Celebrity SAS, 24 Hours in Police Custody, Taskmaster, Home & Away, Grand Designs, This Week on the Farm, Our Yorkshire Farm, The Yorkshire Vet, The Highland Vet, Million Pound Motorhomes, Zoey’s Playlist, Lost Boy: The Killing of James Bulgar, First Dates, Unreported World, Rich House Poor House, Police Code Zero: An Officer Under Attack, Murder Island
Looking through the TV planner, we can see that programmes are still being advertised as being accessible.  
 
But the access is not there.
 
And the silence surrounding all this is extremely disturbing.  If this was a picture or an audio issue affecting a non-disabled audience – broadcasters and Ofcom would be falling over themselves to restore services.  Why are we not hearing more about what has happened and what is being done to fix it?  Why have we waited nearly two weeks and what are the broadcasters doing to step in and resolve this problem?  Why are access users being treated as second-class citizens?
 
To conclude, can you please let us know:
 
– When can we expect full access services to be restored?
– What are the broadcasters doing to help solve this issue?
– What reassurances can you offer that this will not happen again?
– How can subtitle / in-vision / AD users catch up on the programming they have missed whilst these services have been withdrawn?
We look forward to hearing from you with a speedy solution and reassurances for the future.
Yours sincerely,
Caroline O’Neill
Ofcom replied saying:

Ofcom has said that the continued problems with subtitles, audio description and signing on several channels are unacceptable, causing deep upset and frustration among many people who rely on these services. We are in direct contact with the affected broadcasters, and have called on them to provide a clear plan for restoring these services, and to explain how long it will take.

They also said they will keep them updated of any developments.

Update, 9th Oct: Channel 4 have now released a statement:

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.

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.

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.

A Channel 5 spokesperson replied, saying:

“We are sorry for the ongoing disruption to viewers who rely on accessibility features to watch our programmes. Channel 5 takes this issue seriously and we remain in close contact with Red Bee Media which is working to restore accessibility services for broadcasters following an incident at their premises.

“While work is underway at Red Bee Media to fully restore services, we at Channel 5 are manually adding accessibility features to a selection of programmes on our linear channels, including viewer favourites like All Creatures Great and Small. We recognize that we won’t cover as many our programmes as we would like but we will carry on with this work until we can revert to a normal service.

“Viewers who have missed out on programmes since the incident at Red Bee on 25 September will be able to catch up on My5. Again, we are adding accessibility features to programmes on My5 manually and will republish updated programmes on a rolling basis.

“We appreciate our viewers’ patience and understanding at this time. Please bear with us while we work with Red Bee Media to bring access services back to full strength.”

Strangely, Channel 4 today sent out invites for their Inclusion Festival, saying ‘representation matters.’ Not the best timing…

You can read our previous articles about this issue by clicking here.

By Charlie Swinbourne, Editor.

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Posted in: achannel4subtitles, deaf news