Channel 4 has announced an all-star disabled presenting team for its coverage of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, which take place in March.
It is a global first for a broadcaster to have an entire disabled presenting and punditry team for a world class sporting event.
Channel 4 will show over 80 hours of live coverage of the event, which runs from 4-13th March 2022.
Coverage will be available on Channel 4 and Channel 4’s YouTube platform. The daily highlights show will also be repeated on More 4 with audio description. The time difference means much of the live coverage will take place overnight and during the early morning.
Channel 4’s coverage will carry live subtitles. The majority of Channel 4’s YouTube coverage will also carry subtitles.
This year marks 10 years since the broadcaster took over exclusive UK coverage of both summer and winter Paralympic Games.
The presenting team
Broadcast Sports award-winning presenter Ade Adepitan will helm the daily highlights show. At breakfast, former rugby player Ed Jackson and Paralympic champion triathlete Lauren Steadman will present the latest events and overnight highlights.
Recently retired Paralympic swimmer Ellie Robinson will be joined by British racing car driver Billy Monger as on-screen reporters and former sit-kier Sean Rose as pundit. Tokyo 2020 presenter Arthur Williams will lead overnight sports coverage.
Channel 4’s Director of Programmes Ian Katz said:
“Channel 4 is incredibly proud to announce a stellar presenting team and – in a first for any broadcaster around the world – an entire presenting team who are disabled. This is testament to the brilliant disabled presenting talent we have in the UK and underlines our commitment to providing opportunities for people with disabilities and making our output truly representative of the entire population.
Andrew Parsons, IPC President, said:
“When I heard that all of Channel 4’s presenting team at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games will be persons with disabilities I was stunned, but not surprised because they are a world-leading organisation in disability inclusion. The IPC has been working on the Paralympic Games with Channel 4 since 2012 and at every Games they have improved the broadcast landscape on Para sports.
“They are exactly what public sector broadcasting is all about, having the bravery to say: ‘we will be the first to do that’. And this latest landmark decision is important because representation matters. There are over 15 per cent of persons in Great Britain with a disability and they should be able to switch on a TV and see wonderfully ordinary persons with disabilities like them in front of the camera. This is change starting with sport.”
Last summer, Channel 4 attracted 20 million viewers (a third of the UK population) to its 2020 Tokyo Paralympics coverage.