A third of the UK population tuned into Channel 4’s coverage of the 2020 Paralympics – a total of 20 million viewers over the fortnight.
Channel 4 aired over 300 hours of around-the-clock coverage on Channel 4 and More4. In addition, over 1,000 hours was broadcast via 16 live streams online.
The Tokyo Paralympic Games generated at least 2.6 million All 4 streams. This number will increase once figures for All 4 on Sky and Virgin Media are added.
The Games’ biggest moment on Channel 4 saw 1.2 million viewers tune in to watch Jonnie Peacock win bronze in the men’s T64 100m. In second place, 1.1. million watched ParalympicsGB’s wheelchair rugby team bring home an inaugural gold medal.
Channel 4 Head of Sport Pete Andrews said:
“Channel 4 delivered more coverage than ever before for a Paralympic Games and our round the clock coverage on linear and digital platforms meant over a third of the TV viewing population was reached. This demonstrates our audience’s continued support for Paralympic sport and we are delighted that so many people tuned in to not only cheer on established stars such as Jonnie Peacock, but also to see new stars emerge and triumph.”
Viewing peaks
Across the two weeks the Games aired Channel 4 attracted its biggest share of the TV viewing audience in four years. The channel had its best daytime viewing share since the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Paralympics Breakfast tripled Channel 4’s average audience from 7:30-9:00am and doubled the channel’s average share of young viewers in this time slot. The Last Leg of Tokyo outperformed Channel’s 10pm slot average for young viewers (12.4% share 16-34s, +19%).
Channel 4’s bespoke Paralympics Hub on TikTok generated 4.1 million TikTok views.