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Channel 4 crashes once again following ongoing technical issues

Photo credit: Channel 4
Photo credit: Channel 4

Channel 4's technical issues have continued, with the whole channel crashing once again.

Viewers who were watching Steph's Packed Lunch were confused when the whole show froze on one frame.

The broadcast froze in the middle of an interview with comedian Dane Baptiste, who was mid-way through talking about superstitions.

Photo credit: Channel 4
Photo credit: Channel 4

All 4 coverage also crashed, just leaving viewers with a screen saying: "Programmes continue shortly."

It follows a number of technical issues for the channel, starting back in September following an incident at a broadcast centre.

Broadcasts within the Channel 4 network have fallen off air numerous times since then, with the wrong episodes of Married At First Sight UK and Gogglebox being played during the schedule.

Episodes of First Dates and The Great British Bake Off have also experienced audio issues.

Since the issues first started, Channel 4 has been unable to fully reinstate subtitles, audio descriptions and sign language translation, causing decreased accessibility to programmes for disabled viewers.

In a statement, they said: "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.

Photo credit: Mark Bourdillon - Channel 4
Photo credit: Mark Bourdillon - Channel 4

"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 recently confirmed it has been able to restore subtitles on some programmes for viewers on Sky, Virgin Media and Freeview as well as on All 4 and the Channel4 website "with the collaboration and support of our partners... for which we are very grateful".

It is also working on building and testing a new system for audio description and sign language services.

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