Production plans for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games have been presented by Olympic Broadcasting Services ©Rio 2016 Paralympic Games

Production plans for Rio 2016 have been presented by Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) at the inaugural Paralympic Sport Technical meeting in Madrid.

Sports broadcasting was the main focus of the three-day gathering, which saw 25 delegates from 19 International Federations take part.

Yiannis Exarchos, chief executive of OBS, shared his views on the future of sports broadcasting and gave an insight into the planned Olympic TV Channel.

The presentations were followed by independent meetings between the Federations, OBS and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to provide feedback and further discuss preparations for next year’s Games.

“I would like to thank OBS and Yiannis Exarchos for hosting this meeting and sharing their plans for the Rio Paralympics and the Olympic Channel,” IPC chief executive Xavier Gonzalez said.

“This is the first time that Paralympic IFs got the chance to have face-to-face meetings with OBS ahead of the Paralympic Games and give their feedback on the broadcast production plans, which will surely have a positive impact on the final product.”

OBS served as the host broadcaster for the London 2012 Paralympic Games
OBS served as the host broadcaster for the London 2012 Paralympic Games ©Getty Images

In February 2013, the IPC agreed a major deal with the European Broadcasting Union that covered media rights on all platforms for major disability events, including Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016.

Earlier that same month, Britain’s Channel 4 secured the television rights for both the Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 Paralympics, less than a year after the broadcaster recorded some of the highest viewing figures in its history when it covered London 2012.

During the Rio 2016, the broadcaster is planning round the clock coverage with a commitment to screening a minimum of 200 broadcast hours, including live action, highlights and the return of The Last Leg, a huge hit with British viewers. 

In addition, it will build on the three live streams it offered on digital platforms for London 2012 and, in total, will broadcast over 500 hours of coverage from Rio.


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