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Fallout from Red Bee Broadcast Centre incident: latest status

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This page carried a regular status update for a number of weeks following the incident at the Red Bee Broadcast Centre on 25th September.

As of 24th November, there will be no further updates to this page. Any new developments relating to this incident will be reported separately.

Channel 4-owned channels

  • PLAYOUT (NON-MUSIC): Channel 4, E4, More4, 4Seven and Film4 playout operating from DR (Disaster Recovery) facilities.

    On 15th November, a516digital reported that the Channel 4 DOG had returned in some regions on the SD version of the channel. Perhaps an initial indication that the Red Bee Media playout facility was starting to come back online for at least some Channel 4 services.
    Status: Resolved by third week of November.
  • AUDIO: distorted sound on some programme content. This was more apparent in the early weeks in the DR site.
    Status: Resolved by third week of November.
  • CONTINUITY: whilst playout was coming from the DR facility, channel idents were being played out minus announcers during daytime (on Channel 4 mostly, some of the other channels had some pre-recorded announcements), with standard continuity announcements going out in prime time and late-night (although these were pre-recorded). Compliance announcements were mostly being covered on screen, using slides.
    Status: Resolved by third week of November.
  • END-CREDIT PROMOTIONS: at the DR facility, animated end-credit promotion graphics were replaced by simple slides, which were shown immediately after programmes.
    Status: Resolved by third week of November.
  • FREEVIEW BITRATE/MULTIPLEXING: a516digital reported that several Channel 4 services have switched from variable to fixed bitrates since the Red Bee incident on 25th September.

    On 17th November, a516digital reported that more Channel 4 services were starting to return to statmuxing.
    Status: Resolved by third week of November.
  • FILM4 ON DSAT: a516digital observed that the Irish version of the channel has been off the air on digital satellite since the evening of 25th September.
    Status: TBC.
  • E4 ON FREEVIEW: E4+1 unavailable nationwide (since 27th September). When it first disappeared, it was sitting at black and silence. An “Off-Air” caption was in place from c. 7pm on 27th September.
    Status: Resolved by 30th September.

Channel 5-owned channels

  • ACCESS SERVICES: all channels suffering intermittent issues with subtitles – with some programmes being broadcast without subtitles.
    Status: Resolved by early November.

BBC channels

  • INTERNATIONAL SERVICES: BBC World News running significantly reduced regional variations for trails and advertisements.
    Status: TBC.

Statements from broadcasters, suppliers and the regulator

27th September

Channel 4 issued a statement at 7pm, relating to the absence of reliable live channel streams on All4: “Following the incident at the weekend, All 4 is still experiencing some problems. We suggest that you watch your favourite programmes on television until further notice.”

29th September

Red Bee Media issued the following statement, in the evening:

Our teams are working day and night with our customers and partners to resolve the issues caused by the incident in our West London Broadcast Centre on Saturday evening.

We are sorry for any ongoing issues viewers are experiencing with any of the services we provide on behalf of our customers.

The investigation into the cause is still ongoing.

Red Bee Media

1st October

Red Bee Media issued the following statement, late-morning:

We are sorry for the continued disruption of broadcasts and television schedules throughout the week after Saturday’s incident in the Broadcast Centre in London. We share your frustration and are working tirelessly towards a solution.

We are very aware that there continue to be problems with providing subtitles on some of our customers’ programmes, and we understand the challenges this creates for Deaf and hard of hearing viewers, as well as for other people who are reliant on the service.

Our Audio description services are also being affected on some programmes and this is causing challenges to blind and visually impaired viewers.

Please know that we continue to do everything in our power to resolve all issues caused by the incident and we will continue to keep you updated.

Red Bee Media

Channel 5 issued a short statement regarding live streams on My5, at 11.39am: “We believe that this issue is now resolved, but we are continuing to monitor the live channel feeds to ensure that there are no further problems.”

Channel 4 issued a short statement regarding access services, at 6pm: “We are still experiencing technical difficulties, especially with accessible versions of our shows. We’re very sorry and are doing all we can to fix the problem.”

4th October

Channel 4 posted the following statement on their website:

On Saturday 25 September 2021, 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 our services. The building was evacuated and no one was injured, but as a result, we were temporarily off-air.

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.

Channel 4

5th October

In response to complaints about the lack of subtitles on Channel 4 services and disruption to subtitles on Channel 5 and BBC TV, Ofcom issued the following statement:

We’re receiving queries and complaints about ongoing issues with TV subtitling and audio description on these channels, following an incident at Red Bee Media’s broadcast centre in west London.

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.

Ofcom

8th October

Ofcom issued a new statement regarding the disruption to access services:

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.

Ofcom

On Friday afternoon, Red Bee Media issued a new statement:

As a result of the incident at the Broadcast Centre in London on 25 September, we are continuing to experience some disruption to the accessibility services we deliver on behalf of our broadcast customers.

We know how vital these services are to large communities of viewers and we are sorry for the disruption. There are ongoing issues affecting the media we rely upon for the pre-recorded subtitles, audio description and signing services.

Our tech teams are working around the clock to fix these issues and we are looking at all options to restore the services as quickly as possible.

This week we have managed to increase the number of programmes where we can provide the accessibility services and we expect to make further improvements soon. Our subtitlers, audio describers and signers continue to work incredibly hard with the current output.

We recognise the vital importance of delivering accessible programmes, and our teams are fully committed to getting all services completely back up and running as soon as possible. We will continue to provide updates as we progress.

Red Bee Media

13th October

Another update from Channel 4 regarding access services.

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.

Thanks.

Channel 4

15th October

Channel 4 issued a further statement:

We are still experiencing problems from a serious incident on Saturday 25 September, when we had to switch to our emergency back-up, and not all our systems are working properly yet.

First, we want to say we’re sorry really that this is still going on.

At the moment, we can’t give you an exact date when things will get back to normal but we hope to update you very soon.

There are a number of serious issues that will be very annoying for lots of you, outlined below.

Access Services (Subtitling, audio description and sign language)

We can’t currently offer any of these services on our live programming. We know that this is really frustrating for you, because we know that it means you can’t watch your favourite programmes. We are working to fix this as quickly as possible but it’s a very complex issue.

We will be putting new episodes of our most popular programmes on Channel4.com and the All 4 app with subtitles, and will let you know when they are available via our social media platforms. To watch these you will need to visit Channel4.com or use the All 4 app available on Apple/Android devices, Amazon Fire, main games consoles and most Smart TVs. When the problem is fixed, we will make sure all the programmes you have missed will be available with subtitles, audio description and sign language support.

All 4 Video-On-Demand (VOD) on Sky or Virgin Media

Unfortunately, All 4 VOD in Sky and Virgin Media is still affected by the incident. While you can still watch archive programming, you can’t currently watch any catch-up programmes after September 25 2021.

4Music Channels

At the moment, only Kiss, Box and Hits are available. For the rest, we are showing Box Hits.

Once again, we are really sorry that you can’t watch all your favourite shows. But we are working around the clock to fix these problems.

Channel 4

Ofcom provided an update, following meetings with Channel 4 and Channel 5:

We have held meetings with Channel 4 and Channel 5 to address the lack of subtitling, signing and audio description, which has caused deep upset and frustration among audience members with sight and hearing impairments.

We have received around 500 complaints about Channel 4’s ongoing outage. Channel 4 has assured us it will shortly communicate to its audience the clear measures it is taking to restore these services.

Channel 5 has now restored these services to its forward schedule, and is adding them back to recent on-demand programmes where they are lacking. We welcome this progress, and will continue to engage with broadcasters to make sure these services are restored as a priority.

Ofcom

Red Bee Media provided an update:

We are still experiencing issues with receiving the media for which our teams create pre-recorded subtitles, audio description & signing on behalf of many of our broadcaster customers, but things are improving daily with more and more accessible programmes as a result.

As soon as we receive the media (the programmes), our teams proceed to create and add pre-recorded subtitles, audio descriptions and signing. This process has been disrupted since the incident in the Broadcast Centre in London on 25 Sep, but we are getting back on track.

We know and understand that the lack of accessible programmes is a source of frustration for the communities who rely on them, and we are doing everything we can together with our customers to get all services fully restored.

Red Bee Media

19th October

Channel 4 and Ofcom issued statements. You can read them here.

22nd October

Further update from Channel 4 regarding access service – available here.

Acknowledgements

No other acknowledgement information available.

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