Channel 4 has begun to restore regionalised advertising two weeks after a major incident at a playout centre brought the network to a standstill.
The incident triggered by a fire suppression system meant Channel 4 had to reduce the number of services it offered. Notably, Channel 4’s services for the Republic of Ireland were cut-back as well as its music channels as staff switched to manual processes.
Last week, Channel 4 restored a third music channel – Box Hits – which took over 4Music’s slot.
Meanwhile, different regional versions of Channel 4 are being restored. This means advertisers can now reach viewers via regionalised commercial breaks.
The broadcaster is thought to have lost millions in advertising revenue as a result of commercial breaks not being broadcast or dropping out over the past fortnight. As a result, it’s expected that Red Bee Media faces substantial compensation claims. Channel 4 relies on advertising revenue for the bulk of its income.
Meanwhile, subtitling and audio description remains disrupted following the destruction of server files during the incident.