Four of Channel 4's music channels still off air

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief

Published: September 30 2021 | 00:57

Last updated: October 1 2021 | 12:54

Four of Channel 4's music channels still off air

Four of Channel 4's music channels remain off air more than four days on from a fire-related incident at a playout centre in West London.

Four of Channel 4's music channels remain off air more than four days after an incident at a playout centre.

On Saturday evening the UK's TV broadcasting network suffered serious disruption following a fire alarm at Red Bee Media in West London, which is responsible for transmitting some of the UK's biggest channels.

Transmission of BBC One and BBC Two seamlessly switched to a backup system in Salford, but the likes of Channel 4, Channel 5 and BT Sport suffered serious disruption to their channel portfolios.

Although most channels were brought back to air the same evening, some are still off air completely, while other services such as on-demand programming and subtitling also remain affected.

Channel 4 operates six music channels in the UK but as of Thursday morning, only The Box and Kiss are still broadcasting, with each of the others - 4Music, Magic, The Box Hits and Kerrang! - all simulcasting either The Box or Kiss.

Earlier this week Red Bee revealed that its "fire suppression systems" had been activated for reasons unknown, suggesting that water or other damage may have compromised key broadcasting equipment.

In an update on Wednesday night, the company said: "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."

An estimated return date for the off-air channels is currently unknown.