This summer, Olympic fever has gripped the world, with records being broken and new legends being created. But the sporting action isn’t over yet.
Next week the 2024 Paralympic Games begin, with around 4,400 athletes competing in 22 sports, including wheelchair fencing, blind football and Paralympic archery. The United States and the United Kingdom have historic Paralympic records and have many medal contenders this year.
This year, the Games will kick off with the Opening Ceremony next week, and the sporting events themselves the following day. If you want to know all the ways to follow the action, including which channels are showing the Paralympics, which sports are available and which streams are available, we’ve got you covered.
When are the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games?
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will begin on Wednesday August 28, 2024with the opening ceremony.
They will conclude on Sunday, September 8, 2024 and will end with the closing ceremony.
When does the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games start?
As mentioned above, the Opening Ceremony will kick off the entire Paralympic Games on Wednesday, August 28, 2024. Here’s what time it will be broadcast in different parts of the world:
- UNITED KINGDOM – 7:00 p.m. BST
- East Coast of the United States – 2pm ET
- West Coast of the United States – 11:00 a.m. PT
- France – 8pm CET
How to watch the Paralympics in the UK
While the BBC and Eurosport shared joint coverage of the Olympics, only one broadcaster has the rights to the Paralympics: Channel 4. This year, the station is offering comprehensive coverage, with more than 1,300 hours available across its various platforms.
TV broadcast
Television coverage is split between Channel 4 and More 4, with the opening and closing ceremonies broadcast on the former.
Each day, Channel 4 will provide rolling coverage from 8am to 11pm BST, with a short news break at 6pm. This coverage will be split into breakfast, live late morning coverage, live afternoon coverage and live evening coverage.
Presenters include Billy Monger, Vick Hope, JJ Chalmers, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Clare Balding, Ade Adepitan, Ellie Simmonds, Josh Pugh and Gaz Choudhry. Highlights will air daily from 10:30pm BST, with special episodes of comedy show The Last Leg an hour before.
Team sports coverage will be broadcast on More4 each day from 9am to 9pm. All content will be broadcast with subtitles, while both ceremonies will be simulcast on 4Seven and Channel 4 Streaming with BSL and open descriptive commentary.
Streaming
Channel 4 and More 4 are available on the Channel 4 streaming service. It’s free to use, but you’ll need to create an account before you can start streaming. Live sports on weekday afternoon streaming channels will include British Sign Language (BSL), as well as highlights of the day.
Additionally, Channel 4’s YouTube Sports channel will feature up to 18 simultaneous streams, meaning you’ll have the option to watch every televised moment of the Games, if you wish, rather than just the key events chosen for Channel 4 and More 4.
If you’re travelling during the Paralympics, find out how to watch Channel 4 from abroad. The YouTube channel may also be available to those based abroad.
TikTok has also partnered with Channel 4 to broadcast key moments from the Paralympics on the platform.
How to watch the Paralympics in the USA
In the United States, NBC holds the broadcast rights to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Closed captions will be available for each event, on television and online.
TV broadcast
You can watch the opening ceremony and Team USA sporting events on NBC, which will broadcast more than 140 hours of live coverage. Some events will also be broadcast on USA Network and CNBC.
These channels will be available if you have a cable TV package that includes them. If not, there is another solution.
Streaming
If you don’t have access to NBC TV channels, your best bet is to subscribe to Peacock. A Premium subscription costs $7.99 per month, while Peacock Premium Plus costs $13.99 per month. Annual options are also available.
Live streams, highlights and commentary will also be available on NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC Olympics app, the NBC Sports app and the NBC app.
Will the Paralympic Games be broadcast in 4K?
We reached out to the PR teams of both the US and UK broadcasters to ask about 4K coverage of the Paralympics. NBC confirmed directly to Tech Advisor that coverage will not be in 4K.
We’re still waiting for a response from Channel 4, but if the US doesn’t broadcast in 4K, the UK broadcaster will likely limit the Paralympics quality to FHD as well. There’s also been no mention of 4K conversion in Channel 4’s press releases.
If we hear differently, we will update this article.
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