Paris 2024: International Paralympic Committee set to bring unprecedented global coverage to fans By Heather McLean
Thursday, August 22, 2024 - 12:51
Print This Story
Regas Woods from Team USA competes in the Men's Long Jump T42 Final at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games
The 2024 Paralympics is set to bring unprecedented coverage to viewers globally, as the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has secured a record number of rights holding broadcasters that will share the 549 medal events with 1,400 hours of live coverage from all 22 Paralympic sports.
With IPC host broadcaster Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) increasing its production for the Paralympics, Paris 2024 is set to be the biggest and best Games yet.
Speaking to SVG Europe, John Lisko, the IPC's managing director of global media rights, says: We're really excited because what we have is coverage across the planet all markets for the first time we will have coverage in every market around the world. It's a combination of linear platforms, and the majority of them I think almost all of them will have a streaming platform as part of it. We have YouTube as an overlay in the markets where it's applicable, because it's not all markets that can stream our platform, but together we have global coverage for the planet; the whole planet has the ability to see the Paralympic Games.
The Paralympics Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony is set to wow global audiences
Every sport live
Compared to Rio 2016, where there were 16 live sports available to rights holders, Paris 2024 marks a rapid growth for coverage of the Games. This Paralympics marks the first time each of the 22 sports will be available to broadcast live. Lisko says: All sports will be live, which we're really excited about. That's also the first time all sport will be live. We have nearly 1,400 hours of live coverage.
We had 19 of the 22 sports live in Tokyo. [This year] we've increased the overall production coverage with OBS.
At Tokyo the IPC had over 150 broadcasters signed up, but Paris 2024 marks the 160-plus figure, and even at this late stage in the game there may be more to come, Lisko says. It's a reshuffling of some broadcasters, and there's still some deals that we're finalising now, so it's great; right up until the end. If there's room, we'll take 'em!
Alongside selling media rights for the Games, the IPC is focused on encouraging broadcasters to see the responsibility they have to help influence changing the way people think about people with disability in general.
On why the Paralympic fan base is growing so quickly, Lisko remarks: I think it's a testament to the growth of the movement overall. The Paralympic movement and the quality of sport, the investment that's been made around the world with the federations and the NPCs in the sport, I think the sport continues to get better. The athletes have the potential to be even better with the resources that they have available to them, and I think the audiences are tuning in, continues Lisko.
I think also the growth of the digital platforms is helping tremendously, especially to engage new fans, younger fans, and bring them into the mix. Television is phenomenal and gives us a great base for the broad coverage that we need, but the digital content is just a great solution for streaming and the on-demand component. So I think the combination of it all is just working right time, right place, and the right momentum.
Team Netherlands' Marlou Van Rhijn finishes first in the Women's 100m T44 Final during the Rio 2016 Paralympic Athletics competition
Live coverage: Nearly 1,400 hours of live coverage from all 22 Paralympic sports will be available, including both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies
Multiview: For the first time YouTube is introducing Multivew globally, enabling viewers to watch up to four streams from the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games simultaneously. Multiview was previously used in events like NFL and Coachella as well as in some regions during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Clips and highlights: Each day of the Games, clips of every single race, contest, and match - more than 1,200 clips in total - will be made available to the Paralympics YouTube channel to ensure audiences can catch-up on the action at their convenience. These will be raised up for users in the search page with Official Cards allowing seamless discovery of Paralympics content
YouTube Shorts: Throughout the Games the IPC will also be producing close to 400 YouTube Shorts focusing on great sporting moments, and up to 40 athlete feature films
Fundamental digital
Digital is fundamental for the IPC in engaging in new audiences. The Paralympic Games' demographics are different to other sports events, attracting a strong family-based audience, and digital coverage attracts that younger family member.
On the digital strategy for Paris 2024, Lisko says: So from the streaming standpoint, our YouTube channel will be our video player for the games. So in markets where it's allowable, where we don't have it geoblocked, we have a distributing platform where a customer can come in and stream the games live on our YouTube channel, which is fantastic. That gives them an opportunity to be on the site, have the experience.
Then in addition, we have a whole content plan of global content that we're putting up, with sports highlights every day focused on different athletes and fun moments, he continues. We have a lot of content that's being created also to help inform customers about the sport. So we have a variety of content from Game time content to the support content around it.
The YouTube channels will enable the IPC to capture new audiences, and to potentially grow broadcasting deals for LA 2028, says Lisko. He exp
More from Sports Video Group
02/06/2026
Tennis Channel has completed a transition from satellite-based distribution to a...
02/06/2026
Daktronics has announced the 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day educational event for high school educators and student production teams, taking place Jun...
02/06/2026
Fandango will bring Telemundo's live Spanish-language coverage of the FIFA W...
02/06/2026
All Women's Sports Network (AWSN) has announced the live television schedule...
02/06/2026
Spalk, a cloud-based multilingual commentary and production platform, has announced three new partnerships: Ligue 1 (English and Portuguese highlights), Eurolea...
02/06/2026
NHL Network's 2026 Stanley Cup Final coverage began June 1 with NHL Tonight: Stanley Cup Final Media Day from the Carolina Hurricanes' Lenovo Center at ...
02/06/2026
Matrox Video has announced the Maevex MGX Series, a lineup of IPMX-ready video e...
02/06/2026
Marshall Electronics will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7521), showcasing a lineup of 4K and HD compact POV cameras for corporate, education, hospitality, wo...
02/06/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated have...
02/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C50...
02/06/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) has announced the promotion of Joe Marchitto to Western Regional CTO. In his new role, Marchitto will oversee system design across ...
02/06/2026
The NHL has announced that Brothers Osborne will headline a free outdoor concert...
02/06/2026
CP Communications has announced the appointment of its first two female executives in the company's 40-year history. Tabitha Coleman has been named Vice Pre...
02/06/2026
The Lighting Design Group (LDG) has announced the completion of Studio C at Yahoo's headquarters at 770 Broadway in Manhattan. The studio launched April 24 ...
02/06/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (Z) has announced a partnership with FIFA to broadcast FIFA World Cup 2026, FIFA World Cup 2030, FIFA Women's World Cup 2...
02/06/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and repo...
02/06/2026
The department is broadcasting NCAA Baseball Super Regionals at Plainsman Park this weekend
Broadcast and production crews at Division I institutions are busy ...
02/06/2026
The initiative is extends beyond the league's arenas to team training rinks,...
01/06/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
01/06/2026
Designed to solve a common problem in broadcasting, the automated workflow detects, identifies, removes, and documents copyrighted music
AudioShake has introdu...
01/06/2026
The sports-analytics company combines its data with proprietary AI to help leagu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
28/05/2026
FOX Sports' MLB coverage dominated the night at the 47th Annual Sports Emmy ...
28/05/2026
One of the most memorable postseasons in baseball history would have had no memo...
28/05/2026
NBC's Sunday Night Football is among the most-decorated and most-watched pro...
28/05/2026
The 2026 Sports Emmys marked a watershed moment for Prime Video Sports. After bu...
28/05/2026
Hosted by ESPN Senior Writer Ryan McGee, the ceremony honored winners from athletic departments, conference offices, professional networks, production companies...
28/05/2026
Major rights-holders rolled out their 2026 college football slates today, offering a first look at marquee windows, kickoff partners, and conference distributio...
28/05/2026
The 4 Nations Face-Off, an international competition that launched in February 2...
28/05/2026
Soccer is a truly global sport, and, to match the U.S. viewing audience's in...
28/05/2026
The NFL Today, CBS Sports' top-of-the-line NFL studio show, has a storied hi...
28/05/2026
Prime Video is no stranger to innovation, and, within the realm of live streamin...
Paris 2024: International Paralympic Committee set to bring unprecedented global coverage to fans By Heather McLean 
