This year’s Paris 2024 Paralympic coverage on Channel 4 will be the most accessible ever, as the network will be running subtitles across all advertising shown during the Games.
The move, confirmed today, firms up Channel 4’s ongoing commitment to making its coverage of the Games the most accessible yet. The news builds on last week’s announcement that every broadcast of live sporting action from the Games will carry subtitles.
It also builds on the channel’s hard-hitting Paris 2024 Paralympic Games campaign film, which challenges people to view Paralympians as elite, world-class athletes, not as people ‘overcoming’ their disabilities. The campaign hits back at patronising stereotypes as Channel 4 ditches the ‘Superhumans’ brand platform it has used since 2012.
Advertising with subtitles will be supported across linear Channel 4 television around Paralympics coverage on Channel 4, More 4 and 4Seven. Advertising with subtitles will be also supported on live coverage via Channel 4 streaming.
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Having undertaken significant technology and operational work to prepare for the changes,
Channel 4 is working closely with industry partners including brands and agencies, as well asPeach, XR Extreme Reach and Clearcast, to ensure advertising scheduled for Channel 4 during the Paralympic Games is accessible.
Channel 4 chief revenue officer Verica Djurdjevic said: “We would like all of our brilliant advertising partners to deliver their TV advertising with subtitles embedded to make this the most accessible Paralympic Games ever.
“Our partners at Peach, Extreme Reach and Clearcast are on hand to help and we will support brands to make their ads accessible. Improving the accessibility of TV advertising is going to be a journey for the industry, and we are committed to helping to drive the process.”
According to the RNID, 18 million people in the UK have different, diverse experiences of hearing loss and deafness. Despite this, Channel 4 Sales revealed that just 25% of the advertising received by Channel 4 is enabled for subtitles.
Today’s commitment builds on Channel 4 Sales’ commitment to changing attitudes towards disability. Its Diversity In Advertising Award has run three editions over the past eight years dedicated to enhancing disability representation in TV advertising through the award of £3 million TV airtime in total, across campaigns by Maltesers (2016), Lloyds Bank (2017) and Vanish (2022).
