Channel 4 has partnered with YouTube to make up to 18 concurrent live streams from the Paris 2024 Paralympics available to all YouTube users in the UK.
- Part of broadcaster’s strategy of making content available more widely.
- Every single televised moment will be available without actually watching Channel 4.
- But broadcaster says the main channel will continue to offer the “best live moments”.
Channel 4 Sport’s YouTube channel will broadcast every single televised moment of live sport from the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. The announcement of the new partnership comes with 100 days to go until the first day of competition at this summer’s showpiece.
Channel 4 – the official UK media partner for the Games – is enhancing its long-standing partnership with YouTube to bring viewers more ways than ever before to watch the Games.
As a result, Channel 4 Sport’s YouTube channel will offer up to 18 concurrent streams and more than 1300 hours of coverage from all the events being made available for live coverage by the Games’ organisers.
Coverage will still be available on traditional TV
The YouTube channel will complement Channel 4 Paralympics coverage on TV. The broadcaster says the main channel will remain ” the go-to destination for the best live moments and a range of support programming”, alongside Channel 4 Streaming.
However, this partnership marks a further major shift in the way broadcasters cover big events. Until recently, broadcasters including Channel 4 would partner with satellite and cable operators to offer viewers extra streams of major events. Famously during London 2012, the BBC offered 24 HD and 24 SD live streams via satellite and cable. For Paris 2024, streaming service Discovery+ will be the only way to access the full set of live Olympic streams. However, this will be restricted to subscribers.
Channel 4’s partnering with an established free-to-access online platform opens up the extra streams to more viewers, more devices and live viewing in more locations.
Matt Risley, managing director, 4Studio, said:
“We are thrilled to be offering the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games for the first time through this partnership. Channel 4 has a proud record of raising the profile of the Paralympic Games and making top quality sport available to all, for free. This summer, our YouTube partnership will make the Paralympics Games the most social yet in the UK. We will continue to seek innovative partnerships to keep growing our reach with young audiences and build on our unrivalled digital success.”
Pete Andrews, Channel 4’s Head of Sport, said:
“We’re thrilled to have teamed up with YouTube so audiences will have more ways to watch the Paralympians when they take centre stage at Paris. We know how popular YouTube is with the younger audience and it’s this sort of partnership and innovation that will help promote the Paralympics to people of all ages all across the UK.”
Channel 4 has the best of both worlds: Analysis
by Marc Thornham
The problem with some traditional broadcasters is their insistence of maintaining walled gardens for their online content. If you don’t download their app, register your details and watch that way, then you can’t watch.
But many viewers, particularly younger audiences aren’t buying that. They’re already active on YouTube, TikTok or Instagram. Why should they have to download yet another app to access content?
Channel 4 has responded to this by making more of its content available on platforms where its target audience are already active. Its recently trebled the number of views of full episodes of shows on YouTube. And its recently taken steps to remove the need for viewers to download the Channel 4 streaming app. Its website has been upgraded to provide a full app-like experience for the growing number of users who prefer to access Channel 4 content that way.
But the tug of war between audiences and broadcasters will continue. For example, the launch of Freely aims to get more viewers streaming on the broadcaster’s terms. I suspect audiences who may actually watch more on their smartphone, laptop or tablet than an actual TV will continue to favour the platforms that offer everything they need on their terms. Channel 4, as partner in Freely and at the forefront of making its content available outside of its C4 Streaming walled garden gets to enjoy the best of both worlds.
Image: RXTV composite – Paralympics publicity image / Channel 4 / YouTube