The world is filled with Olympic fever this summer, with records broken and new legends made. However, the sporting action is far from over.
Today marks the start of the 2024 Paralympic Games – with around 4,400 athletes competing in 22 sports including wheelchair fencing, football for the blind and para-archery. The US and Great Britain have set historic records at the Paralympic Games and are among many medal contenders this year.
This year’s Games start with the opening ceremony, with the sports themselves starting the day after. If you want to know all the ways to watch the action, including which channels are showing the Paralympics, what sports are available and what accessible broadcasts there are, we’ve got everything you need.
When are the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games?
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games start tonight. Wednesday August 28, 2024with the opening ceremony.
They will shut down 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:
- Great Britain – 7pm BST
- East Coast USA – 2:00 PM ET
- West Coast USA – 11am PT
- France – 8:00 PM CET
How to watch the Paralympic Games in Great Britain
While the BBC and Eurosport shared joint coverage of the Olympic Games, only one broadcaster has the rights to the Paralympic Games: Channel 4. This year the channel has extensive coverage available, with more than 1,300 hours available across its platforms.
Broadcast television
TV coverage is split between Channel 4 and More 4, with the opening and closing ceremonies broadcast on the former.
Every day, Channel 4 has back-to-back coverage from 8am to 11pm BST, with a short break for the news at 6pm. This will be split into breakfast, late morning live coverage, afternoon live coverage and evening live coverage.
Presenters include Billy Monger, Vick Hope, JJ Chalmers, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Clare Balding, Ade Adepitan, Ellie Simmonds, Josh Pugh and Gaz Choudhry. Highlights air every day from 10:30pm BST, with special episodes of comedy panel show The Last Leg taking place an hour earlier.
Team sports coverage is broadcast every day on More4 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.
Stream
Channel 4 and More 4 can be accessed via the Channel 4 streaming service. This is free to use, but you will need to create an account before you can start streaming. Live sport on the streaming channels broadcast on weekday afternoons includes BSL (British Sign Language) signings, as well as the daily highlights.
In addition, Channel 4’s Sports YouTube channel has up to 18 simultaneous streams, meaning you have the option to watch every televised moment of the Games, if you wish, instead of the main events chosen for Channel 4 and More 4 .
If you’re traveling while the Paralympic Games are taking place, check out how to watch Channel 4 from abroad. The YouTube channel may also be available to people based internationally.
TikTok has also partnered with Channel 4 to bring key moments from the Paralympic Games to the platform.
How to watch the USA Paralympics
In America, NBC has the rights to both the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. Subtitles are available at every event, both on TV and online.
Broadcast television
You can watch Team USA’s opening ceremonies and sporting events on NBC, which will air more than 140 hours of live coverage. Some events are also broadcast on USA Network and CNBC.
These channels are available if you have a cable TV package included. If you don’t, there is another way.
Stream
If you don’t have access to the NBC TV channels, your best bet is to sign up for 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 shown 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 US and UK PR teams to ask about 4K coverage of the Paralympic Games. NBC confirmed directly to Tech Advisor that the 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 quality of the Paralympics to FHD as well. There’s also no mention of 4K upscaling in Channel 4’s press releases.
If we hear otherwise, we will update this article.
