Channel 4 has apologised to viewers of digital channel More4 after a technical hitch caused only the first half of an interview with former US president Bill Clinton to be aired last night.
The broadcaster has received a number of online complaints about the playout mix-up, which occurred during the satirical news programme The Daily Show, hosted by Jon Stewart.
In the first half of his on-air appearance, Clinton said that the rush to build houses in the early 2000s had helped fuel the sub-prime lending crisis – and said that money ploughed into construction would have been better spent on renewable energy.
The interview was interrupted by an ad break – but when the ads finished, the first half of the show was repeated again. A continuity announcer apologised for the error about 10 minutes later.
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A number of viewers have posted comments on the official More4 messageboard about last night’s mistake.
One person wrote: “I’m so angry with More4’s treatment of The Daily Show. They really don’t seem to realise what a jewel in the crown they have.”
The Daily Show, which is produced by Comedy Central, has been a permanent feature on the More4 schedule since the news and documentaries channel launched in October 2005.
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The programme is broadcast in the UK a day after its US airing. It takes a light-hearted look at the news, but also features interviews with political heavyweights, including the former British prime minister Tony Blair, who made a rare appearance on the show last week.
A Channel 4 spokesman said: “We aim to re-show the programme as soon as we can – we are currently looking at the schedule to see when we can accommodate it.”
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