After lackluster coverage of the London Paralympic Games, the NBC Sports Group is working with the United States Olympic Committee to create a deal that will give greater coverage of U.S Paralympic Athletes at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games than viewers have seen in previous games.
From a media and communications stand point, this deal marks a turning point in how disability sports, whether at the Paralympic level, or at a local level, will be broadcast. In the past few years, coverage of the Paralympic Games has increased, but not nearly to the level of the Olympic Games. These will the first games to offer live coverage of Paralympic events. I think that this broadcast will reach a larger demographic and make disability sports on television more common in United States households.
This deal demonstrates how the new model of communication is used. The deal entails not only 3.5 hours on NBC’s broadcast network and 46.5 hours on its cable channel, NBC Sports Network, but it also includes live streaming on the US Paralympics website. Presenting the option of live streaming by sport allows NBC and the U.S. Olympic Committee to reach various niche audiences. Having three different access points also allows viewers to have a more customized viewing experience, whether on standard television or through computers.Overall, after this deal is finalized, coverage of the Paralympic Games in Sochi will expand dramatically and allow viewers a more customized experience in how they watch the game. In turn, more people will become aware of disability sports.
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On September 23, 2013, Sports Business Journal released an article announcing increased coverage for next year’s Winter Paralympic games in Sochi, Russia. Last year, NBC was heavily critiqued for not offering more coverage of the Paralympic games. The International Paralympic Committee, as well as persons with disabilities, expressed their frustration over such little exposure, mainly due to the significant impact last year’s games had on the Paralympic community.
NBC sports group is finalizing a deal with the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), which will result in a total of fifty hours of coverage on NBC and NBC Sports Network. This is a dramatic increase from last year’s measly five and a half hours of coverage that was also taped and reached viewers at delayed times. NBC will be showing the games live, as well as offering live streaming of Paralympic events in which United States athletes will be competing. Anyone with a computer will be able to view the games, and the streaming can be found at USParalympics.org. Although the deal has not been finalized, the main terms have been agreed upon, despite a few minor “kinks” that are still being worked out between NBC and the USOC.
From a media standpoint, the additional coverage will greatly benefit niche audiences, as well as those who just want to watch the games. The live streaming that is to be offered will allow a person to locate specific athletes in specific events, which will give the viewers more control over what he/she watches. This ability for viewers to watch what they want reflects the new version of the sports communication model. Instead of the games being offered solely to the mass media (NBC), which can only reach out to NBC viewers, they have offered content for niche audiences who can view the games through live streaming. Content providers are giving the viewers more control over what they watch, which will greatly expand the audience NBC aims to reach. The additional coverage will also be beneficial for those who have an interest in the Paralympic games. The additional fifty hours of live coverage will be a significant increase from last year’s games, which was tape-delayed. These changes will allow the millions of people in the United States to view the Paralympic games like never before, and bring new light and positive awareness to the Paralympic community. In the past, NBC offered only re-caps of the games, and no live coverage whatsoever. Next year, the United States will have full coverage of the top athletes with disabilities in the world, which should greatly increase the popularity of the event. In class we discussed how expanding to niche audiences and providing new and exciting content for viewers benefits media broadcasting networks. NBC will be offering the games to niche audiences, as well as providing new and interesting content for viewers, which will positively impact the network’s and bring long overdue, deserving awareness to the Paralympic games and participating athletes.
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