The 2024 Paris Paralympics set new benchmark in its global coverage, the International Paralympic Committee has said.
According to a press note published on the International Paralympic Committee’s website the quadrennial event enjoyed 12,941 hours of coverage broadcast globally which is the highest-ever in the 64-year long history of Paralympic Games. Of the 12,941 hours of coverage, 10,428 hours of which covered live sport.
The French capital hosted the Paralympics from August 29 to September 8 and it attracted over 4000 athletes from 169 delegations.
Further the Paris Paralympics saw the live TV hours consumed by viewers jump by 83 percent compared to the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. The internet also played its part in taking the Games to the masses as for the first time there were over a billion Paralympics related searches. In USA, for example, Paralympics placed fifth in the top Google news searches of 2024.
Also Read: Para-Athletics Grand Prix Is A Historic Leap for India: Raadhika Khetarpal
A Nielsen Sports research conducted on behalf of IPC found out that 763.3 million hours of dedicated live coverage was consumed by viewers worldwide during the Paris Paralympics.
The overall live audience also saw a significant improvement as it grew by 40 percent from Tokyo 2020 and by 117 percent compared to Rio 2016.
The Opening Ceremony and the Closing Ceremony of the Paris Paralympics were also a hit among the sports fans. While the Opening Ceremony was watched on TV by a record by nearly 349.8 million people, about 193.6 million people tuned into their TV sets to follow the Closing Ceremony.
There were 22 sports which were part of the Paris Paralympics and all the sports enjoyed live coverage. The five sports that generated the most airtime were Para athletics (1,648 hours), Para swimming (860 hours), Para table tennis (615 hours), wheelchair tennis (498 hours) and wheelchair basketball (434 hours).
The IPC’s own digital platforms also played pivotal role in engaging the audience. According to IPC there were more than 305 million video views during the Paris Paralympic Games, which is an increase of 35 percent on Tokyo Paralympics.
Indian contingent at the Paris Paralympics had a remarkable run as enjoyed its para-athletes scripted the country’s greatest Paralympics campaign ever. India won 29 medals at the Paris Paralympics, seven of which were gold. Also for the first time India finished in the top 20 of the medals tally.
Prakhar Sachdeo
The Sportz Planet Desk
