The Background
With their remit to champion unheard voices, to innovate and take bold creative risks, to inspire change in the way we lead our lives and stand up for diversity, the team at 4Sales Ireland/Medialink believe in advertising with purpose. Their Paralympic coverage gave them the opportunity to demonstrate their dedication to inclusion. Channel 4 has had a significant and transformative relationship with the Paralympics since it became the official UK broadcaster for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. The coverage has been instrumental in changing public perceptions of disability in a positive way. Through groundbreaking impactful campaigns like ‘Meet the Superhumans’ and 2024’s ‘Considering What?’, Channel 4 have highlighted the extraordinary abilities of Paralympians.
With such an aim of inclusivity, the focus turned to our advertising airtime. In Ireland, approximately 233,420 people or about 5% of the population experience deafness or a hearing impairment to some extent. The goal was to create coverage that would be accessible to as many viewers as possible. The objective was to help create a more inclusive viewing experience and encourage advertisers to think about accessibility in their campaigns. This is in line with the team’s broader commitment to being a leader in accessible and inclusive broadcasting.
This campaign was shortlisted for Best Use of Innovation at the 2025 TAMI Awards
The Challenge
The objective was to enable every advertising break in all live coverage of the Paralympic Games on all platforms for closed captioning, a market first. The strategy aimed to increase the accessibility of content on Channel 4 Ireland, specifically targeting viewers with hearing impairments, by introducing closed captions in advertising breaks during the live coverage of the Paralympic Games. As the first broadcaster to do this, Channel 4 wanted to not only to enhance the viewing experience for people with hearing impairments but also demonstrate its commitment to inclusive media. Introducing closed captions in advertising breaks makes a strong statement about the value of accessibility in every aspect of broadcasting—not just in the content but also in the commercial breaks that accompany it.
While many TV programs, including live coverage of the Paralympics, have included closed captions, advertising has traditionally been overlooked in this regard. For viewers who rely on captions, this exclusion has created an uneven experience, where they can fully enjoy the sports coverage but may miss out on the messages conveyed in the adverts. By ensuring that ads are also captioned, Channel wanted to make it possible for people with hearing impairments to enjoy the entire broadcast experience without feeling left out during the breaks. This decision is significant, particularly because the Paralympics attract a diverse viewership that of course includes people with disabilities.
For advertisers, the introduction of closed captions during ad breaks represents a unique opportunity. By providing captions, advertisers can reach a broader audience, particularly those who are deaf or hard of hearing. This gives an opportunity to engage with a more diverse consumer base. Captions can enhance the impact of an advertisement, as they reinforce key messages and make the content more accessible to people in various environments. For example, viewers who are watching TV in noisy settings or those who prefer to read along with audio will find that captions improve their understanding and engagement with the ad. This move may even result in increased viewer attention and higher brand recall, as accessibility can lead to a positive emotional response from viewers.
The Strategy
Having identified a goal and strategy, the team now needed to implement a plan that could bring it successfully to fruition. They agreed on a plan that focussed on collaboration with advertisers and technology. Since this strategy to include captions in all ads during such a significant event was a pioneering move, working with advertising agencies, creative agencies, and technical partners was essential to ensure the project was successful. Collaboration with agencies played a key role in the success of the initiative to add closed captions to advertisements during the live coverage of the Paralympic Games. 4Sales Ireland began by communicating the goal and promoted the opportunity to planners and buyers across the agencies, emphasising the reasons for taking on this project and offering an opportunity to be part of a market first which would improve accessibility not only in this instance with the Paralympics but potentially in advertising moving forward. To be part of the most inclusive sporting event of the year, the team only required a few simple things from them in order to get involved – TV copies delivered with closed caption subtitles included delivered in time for the start of the games.
Alongside partners at Clearcast, Peach and Extreme Reach, 4Sales Ireland informed the advertising and creative agencies involved about the new accessibility requirements for the Paralympic Games ad breaks. This includes informing them about the need to add closed captions to all advertisements and ensuring that captions meet specific standards for accuracy, timing, and legibility. Improving ad accessibility is a number one priority for Clearcast and a cause they have been championing for almost two years. They were keen to support the innovation and to make this process as smooth as possible and generously offered to subtitle ads with closed captions and deliver to Medialink/4 Sales Ireland for just €120 and guaranteed a speedy turnaround. Where advertisers or agencies were faced with issues such as being charged an inflated price to provide closed captions, 4 Sales Ireland provided an incentive to counter act that, as we did not want willing partners to be put off by cost. Clearcast and 4Sales Ireland/Medialink provided agencies with a clear briefing, including technical specifications for the captions, such as the format required. The Clearcast website provided a step-by-step process for both new copy and also copy that had already been clocked and cleared.
Social media promotion of the closed caption-enabled advertisement breaks on Channel 4 Ireland was an essential part of ensuring awareness, engagement, and support for the initiative. It allowed the team to not only inform the audience about this important accessibility feature but also to demonstrate their commitment to innovation and inclusivity.
The Results
The strategy and planning resulted in 60% of all advertisements broadcast during the live coverage of the Paralympics on Channel 4 Ireland included closed captions! The opening and closing ceremonies were the first fully captioned advertising breaks in Irish Commercial Broadcast history!! The success of the initiative marks a significant milestone in making television more inclusive, setting a precedent for accessibility that could resonate far beyond this advance in the Paralympic coverage. By integrating closed captions across the advertising breaks during such a highprofile event, 4Sales Ireland/ Medialink have hopefully set a new standard for accessibility in media and are paving the way for future developments in inclusive television broadcasting. Central to the success of this initiative was the collaboration between 4Sales Ireland/ Medialink and key industry partners, including advertising agencies, creative teams, Clearcast, Extreme Reach and Peach. These partnerships were instrumental in ensuring that the process of adding captions to advertisements was smooth and efficient. Clearcast played a crucial role in ensuring that all ads met regulatory standards for captioning, while Peach, as the broadcast delivery platform, helped ensure the captions were accurately synchronized with the live broadcast. Following the success with this groundbreaking innovation, the team have been delighted to see other broadcasters have been inspired to follow suit, replicating this initiative on their own channels, for example Virgin Media and Guinness introduced a fully accessible ad break during two of Ireland’s 2025 6 Nations Rugby Championship fixtures.
‘… we’re thrilled to support Channel 4’s new campaign to make sure every ad played during the breaks of the live coverage of
the Paralympic games, on all platforms, will be subtitled.’ — Clearcast
‘It was always of the utmost importance to us to platform Olympic and Paralympic athletes as equals. It was a no-brainer for
us to showcase this demonstration of equality when Dentsu and Medialink brought us the concept of amending our creative
assets.’ — Philip Greene (PTSB Sponsorship Manager)
‘That is a fantastic achievement to have all ads with closed captions, reflecting the spirit of the games.’ — Niamh O’Shea, Core
‘… delighted to be part of making accessible coverage for all, such important work you are doing!’ — Roisin Shaw, Javelin
Credits
Brand:
4Sales Ireland/Medialink
Media Agency:
Medialink
Award:
Shortlist Best Use of Innovation at the 2025 TAMI Awards