Channel 4’s coverage of the 2024 Paralympics in Paris will be made available across a variety of platforms.
- Channel 4 and More 4 will offer traditional TV viewers access to two concurrent live events
- For additional coverage, Channel 4 Sport on YouTube will offer 18 concurrent live streams.
- Channel 4 teams up with Snapchat for a new way to experience Paralympic sport.
The 2024 Paralympics gets going on Wednesday evening, with live coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Channel 4 from 6:30pm. 4seven and Channel 4 streaming will carry the event with in-vision signing and an open descriptive commentary.
Daily coverage gets underway on most mornings from 8am on Channel 4, with coverage through until the late evening, each day until the closing ceremony on Sunday 8th September. Coverage will only break for Channel 4 News, which moves to 6pm for the duration of the Paralympics. A comedic lookback at the day’s events follows with The Last Leg, a programme that was first introduced as a late night companion to Channel 4’s London 2012 Paralympic coverage.
More 4 with extra coverage option
Meanwhile, More 4 will offer a second stream of live events starting from 9am each day until 9pm at night.
In the UK, More 4 is available on the following channel numbers:
- Freeview channel 18 (SD)
- Sky satellite 136 (HD) in England, Wales, NI or 137 (HD) in Scotland.
- Sky Stream/Glass channel 127 (HD)
- Virgin Media channel 147 (HD)
- Freesat channel 124
Channel 4’s team of presenters, pundits, reporters and commentators sees Ade Adepitan return for Paris 2024. He’s joined by five-time Paralympic swimming champion and BAFTA-winner Ellie Simmonds, who makes her Channel 4 presentation debut. Actress, producer and activist Rose Ayling-Ellis presents live for the first time as she hosts alongside Clare Balding from a new position inside the Athletes’ Village.
Also on the team are racing-driver-turned-commentator Billy Monger, Invictus Games medallist and presenter JJ Chalmers, adventurer and former rugby union player Ed Jackson, TV and radio presenter Vick Hope, comedian Josh Pugh and sports presenter Lee McKenzie.
All content will be broadcast with subtitles, live peak time sport on Channel 4 will have closed audio description, while live sport on More4 and Channel 4 Streaming on weekday afternoons will include BSL live signing.
More choice via streaming platforms
Channel 4 Sport on YouTube will stream 18 concurrent streams, opening up full coverage to viewers on TV, mobile, tablet and PC. Channel 4’s existing streaming service will also offer full coverage of all available live streams.
Snapchat partnership
Channel 4 and Snapchat will launch a new augmented reality (AR) feature on Channel 4’s Snapchat profile for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, allowing sports fans to immerse themselves in the action more than ever before. Fans will be able to put themselves into the heart of the action in Paris by trying out multiple Paralympics events through AR – including archery and athletics – using Snapchat.
The feature is based on a specially created Snapchat Lens: an AR experience that allows fans to interact with 3D Paralympics imagery, venues and sporting equipment, overlaid on to the real world.
Planned content includes daily highlights plus moments from The Last Leg which will see Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe live in Paris giving their unique take on the day’s events.
From Paris via Cardiff
In a broadcasting first for Channel 4, its remote galleries and back-of-house production team will be based in Cardiff. It’s now commonplace for such functions to take place miles away from the actual event, as new technologies allow broadcasters more flexibility in location.
Marc Thornham | Image: Channel 4