Channel 4 unveils ambitious Paralympic plans

Channel 4 will broadcast more than 300 hours of action from the Paralympics from a number of different locations.

Its Paralympic Breakfast Show and morning sports competitions will air live from its HQ in Leeds, while Channel 4’s highlights show will be broadcast from Tokyo. It will then air an early evening show celebrating ParalympicsGB medals of the day, which will come from Leeds, followed by The Last Leg, which will be broadcast to audiences daily from London. Live overnight sport then comes from Japan.

Furthermore, More 4 will become a dedicated sports channel live from Tokyo, featuring ParalympicsGB teams in wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball.

Whisper is producing Channel 4’s live coverage (you can read more about this in the latest issue of Broadcast Sport magazine), with the presentation team for the Tokyo Games featuring the largest number of disabled presenters ever on UK television (over 70 per cent).

Ade Adepitan will helm the highlights show from Tokyo, while Sophie Morgan, JJ Chalmers and Ed Jackson will join Lee McKenzie and Vick Hope reporting from Japan.

In the UK, Clare Balding will present live sport finals from Leeds, which take place UK morning time, while Arthur Williams and Steph McGovern will head up a daily Paralympics Breakfast Show, also from Leeds.

The Last Leg, produced by Open Mike, will also be placed at the heart of Channel 4’s primetime schedule throughout the Tokyo Paralympic Games. Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe will present the show daily from London and will be joined by Rosie Jones reporting from Tokyo.

Channel 4’s pundits for the Paralympics include Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Steve Brown, Liam Malone, Danny Crates and Liz Johnson.

As well as airing content on linear TV, Channel 4 will offer 16 live streams of action on its Paralympics Microsite, showing over 1,000 hours of sport.

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will take place from 24 August – 6 September.

Channel 4 director of programmes Ian Katz said: “Channel 4 has long played a fundamental role in bringing a global audience to the Paralympic Games and for shifting perceptions of disabled people through our significant investment in coverage and award-winning marketing campaigns for London 2012 and Rio 2016.

“Now we’re finally able to get excited about bringing the long-awaited Tokyo 2020 Paralympics to UK viewers with even more coverage than ever before across multiple platforms, from multiple locations and hosted by a stellar presenting team.

“We’re looking forward to bringing the best coverage possible to the British public so we can all get behind ParalympicsGB and celebrate their success in Tokyo.”