NBC and NBCSN will air 116 combined hours of coverage of the next two Paralympic Games — Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 — as NBC Olympics and the U.S. Olympic Committee partnered to acquire U.S. media rights.
NBC and NBCSN will air 50 hours of TV coverage of the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, beginning March 7 with the opening ceremony, continuing with daily coverage and ending with the closing ceremony March 16.
The networks will air 66 hours of coverage of the Rio Paralympics in September 2016, an increase of 60.5 hours from the coverage of the London 2012 Paralympics.
The USOC will provide live coverage of the Sochi and Rio Paralympics at TeamUSA.org, too.
“With the support of the IPC, USOC and leading corporate sponsors, we are thrilled to provide an unprecedented level of coverage for the Paralympic Games from both Sochi and Rio,” said Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics. “We look forward to telling the inspiring stories of the athletes and capturing the compelling competition across NBC and NBCSN.”
In Sochi, NBCSN will broadcast 46.5 hours, and NBC will air an additional 3.5 hours. The Paralympic Winter Games span Alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, sled hockey, wheelchair curling and the new discipline of snowboardcross.
The USOC will add live coverage of all competition, including 72 medal events, and the opening and closing ceremonies.
“We are absolutely delighted to announce this two-Games agreement with NBC and the USOC as it provides more airtime of the Paralympics than ever before in the U.S.,” said Sir Phillip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee. “Following the success of London 2012, we said it was absolutely essential for the growth of the Paralympic Movement and the Paralympic Games that in future years U.S audiences had a greater opportunity to watch some of the world’s best elite athletes in action.
“This is tremendous news for sports fans, too, many of which will be able to watch a Paralympic Games live for the first time. I am sure they will be as captivated and emotionally enthralled as the billions around the world who tuned into London 2012 last summer.”
