Channel 4 Extends Paralympic Partnership

Channel 4, official broadcaster of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, has won the British broadcast rights to the 2014 winter Paralympics in Sochi and the next summer Paralympic Games, Rio 2016.

The commercial broadcaster will show approximately 45 hours of next year’s winter Paralympic Games and around 200 hours at Rio 2016’s Paralympics, following its hugely popular coverage of London 2012.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that a bid in the region of £7 million from Channel 4 was enough to fend off a rival bid from the BBC, which had been the UK’s traditional Paralympic broadcaster until Channel 4 took over for London 2012. 

It is the first time the IPC has awarded the broadcast rights to two Games at once.

IPC president Sir Philip Craven said: ‘With London 2012 Channel 4 created a blueprint for how a commercial broadcaster can raise the profile of Paralympic sport and its athletes to new levels.’

‘They reached record audiences, in particular young people, identified and developed some fantastic new presenting talent and played a significant role in delivering seismic shifts in attitudes and perceptions towards people with an impairment in the UK.’

‘They have promised to build on this fantastic work over the next four years and we look forward to working with them as they help contribute to the IPC’s vision of enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence to inspire and excite the world.’

David Abraham, Channel 4’s chief executive added: ‘The London 2012 Paralympic Games was a landmark moment in the history of broadcasting Paralympic sport. Not only did Channel 4’s coverage reach record audiences but, more importantly, it had a meaningful and positive impact on UK attitudes to disability and disability sport in general.’

‘I’m delighted that we have the opportunity to build on this achievement over the next four years and to work alongside the IPC to deliver both the winter Games from Sochi in 2014 and the summer Games from Rio in 2016.’