London 2019: Record broadcast coverage for World Para Swimming Championships

The World Para Swimming Allianz Championships which open in London, Great Britain, on Monday are set to be broadcast to more countries than ever before.

Around 650 swimmers from 80 countries are set to compete in London 2019 between 9-15 September 2019, and global interest is high in the final World Championships ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

In the host nation, Channel 4 will livestream all sessions on the C4 Paralympics website and provide live coverage of all evening sessions on More 4.  BBC Radio 5 Live will also be in attendance.

With Tokyo 2020 on the horizon, Paralympic broadcaster NHK will screen daily highlights and multiple days of live coverage, marking the first time the World Para Swimming Championships have been screened live in Japan.

Underlining its growing commitment and the increasing interest in Para sport events in the US, NBC will cover the event for the first time via a daily livestream and live coverage of evening sessions on the Olympic Channel.

Alexis Schaefer, the IPC’s Commercial, Broadcasting and Partnerships Director, said: “The record broadcast coverage of the London 2019 World Para Swimming Allianz Championships highlights the growing interest in Para sport around the world, especially in the lead-up to Tokyo 2020.

“To reach more countries than ever before is testament to the increasing performance levels of swimmers and the fantastic quality of competition on offer.  To achieve such record coverage, bearing in mind the late switch of the event from Malaysia to London, is outstanding and the result of a very strong team effort which will benefit Para sport fans and sponsors alike.”    

Oceania will benefit from its most extensive coverage of the event. In New Zealand, TVNZ and Attitude Pictures are collaborating to screen live free to air coverage on DUKE of evening sessions. Following its successful coverage of both Rio 2016 and PyeongChang 2018, Australian broadcaster Seven will stream heats and finals from the London Aquatics Centre on 7 Plus and a 30-minute highlights package will also screen on 7TWO.

Lynne Anderson, Paralympics Australia Chief Executive, said: “Seven has done a remarkable job in broadcasting the past two Paralympic Games, and now by broadcasting such a major event for one of our biggest Paralympic sports, Seven is further showing its commitment to supporting the Paralympic movement in Australia.

“We are incredibly grateful for Seven’s dedication to our movement, and we are so excited to watch some of our Tokyo 2020 hopefuls make a splash in London from the comfort of our own homes or on our devices wherever we may be.”

There will also be live coverage (either livestream or linear) of London 2019 in Argentina (DeporTV), Brazil (TV Globo), Canada (CPC), Ireland (RTE) Spain (CPE) and Ukraine.  The IPC’s strong collaboration with the Olympic Channel will see live stream coverage of all sessions in countries where geo-blocking restrictions do not apply.   The International Paralympic Committee will also be streaming coverage of all sessions via its website and the World Para Swimming website and social media channels.

Highlights and news coverage are expected in Austria (ORF), Germany (ARD/ZDF), Italy (RAI), Russia (Match TV), and South Africa and Sub Sahara Africa (SuperSport).  In Latin America there will be coverage on America Movil and after successful coverage of the 2018 Asian Para Games, TVRI will screen highlights in Indonesia.

Any broadcaster interested in receiving coverage of the London 2019 World Para Swimming Allianz Championships should contact alexis.vapaille@paralympic.org