Global broadcast coverage of Paris 2024 Paralympic Games sets new benchmarks

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games were a tremendous broadcasting success with more platforms and countries screening the event than ever before, viewers consuming a record number of live hours, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies attracting their biggest ever live audiences, and Paralympic related internet searches breaking the one billion barrier.

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games were covered by a record 225 Media Rights Holders, web streamers, digital, social and audio platforms. This means that for the first time in history the world’s eight billion people had the opportunity to watch the event.

According to new Nielsen Sports research conducted on behalf of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), 763.3 million hours of dedicated live coverage was consumed by viewers worldwide during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, 83 percent more than the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

This consumption stems from 12,941 hours of coverage that was broadcast from the Games by Media Rights Holders and global media outlets, 10,428 hours of which covered live sport. The overall number of hours broadcast from Paris 2024 is 48 percent more than the 8,700 hours shown from Tokyo 2020 and 154 percent more than the 5,100 hours broadcast from Rio 2016.

The overall live audience for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games grew by 40 per cent from Tokyo 2020 and by 117 per cent compared to Rio 2016.

Mike Peters, the IPC’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Thanks to the outstanding performances of the Paralympians in those iconic venues in Paris, the tremendous work of Media Rights Holders around the world, the breath-taking images provided by the Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), and the dedication of the IPC’s own broadcast team, Paris 2024 broke pretty much every Paralympic broadcasting record.

“The European time zone saw several Media Rights Holders in the region including France TV, ZDF, ARD, Rai and Channel 4 significantly increase their live coverage compared to previous Games. This led to a massive increase in the number of live hours consumed by viewers, way beyond what was achieved for Tokyo 2020.

“In addition, more people than ever before had the opportunity to enjoy the Games across several platforms. We are extremely happy with the results as they underline the growing global interest and attraction of the Paralympic Games.”

Jon Stainer, Global General Manager of Nielsen Sports, said: “This record-breaking amount of consumption for a Paralympic Games is testament to the IPC and broadcasters in continuing to make the Games accessible. It is also a sign of the growing appetite of consumers around the world for Para sport. These figures act as a perfect platform for commercial and fan growth ahead of both the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games and the LA28 Paralympic Games.”

Opening and Closing Ceremonies smash records

The spectacular Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony, which took place on 29 August at the iconic Place de Concorde, was watched by a record cumulative TV audience of nearly 349.8 million people. The audience size marks a 10 per cent increase compared to Tokyo 2020 and is almost double the 185 million who watched the London 2012 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony.

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony was watched by a cumulative TV audience of 193.6 million people, nearly 40 per cent more than the 139 million that tuned in for the Tokyo 2020 Closing Ceremony.

All 22 Para sports break new ground

For the first time in Paralympic history, some amount of live coverage was made available for all 22 sports at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Para athletics was the sport that generated the most airtime with 1,648 hours of coverage, followed by Para swimming (860 hours), Para table tennis (615 hours), wheelchair tennis (498 hours) and wheelchair basketball (434 hours).

In terms of cumulative audience, across all 10 days of coverage, Para swimming competition was watched by 1.3 billion people, while 11 days of Para athletics was viewed by 1.2 billion.

There were record cumulative TV audiences in nine sports, including Para powerlifting and Para rowing which doubled their audience numbers compared to Tokyo 2020. The viewership numbers for Para taekwondo increased by 70 percent, boccia grew by 70 percent, and Para archery 68 percent.

IPC’s own platforms engage new audiences

In terms of the IPC’s own digital platforms, there were more than 305 million video views during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, an increase of 35 per cent on Tokyo 2020. The number of engagements also grew to 16.1 million, 24 per cent more than the previous summer Games.

Underlining the growing global interest and engagement, the number of Paralympic-related internet searches during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games broke the one billion-barrier for the first time. In the USA, Paralympics placed fifth in the top Google news searches of 2024.

For the two weeks prior to the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony, the IPC’s digital platforms enjoyed 225 million video views, a 448 per cent increase compared to the same period for Tokyo 2020.

Across the whole year, the IPC’s platforms generated 1.6 billion video views and nearly 91 million engagements from more than 7,400 posts.

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games took place between 29 August and 8 September 2024. The event attracted 4,400 athletes from a record 169 delegations.