TORONTO, Ont. – With 100 days to go to the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) today unveiled an unprecedented, fully accessible broadcast and electronic media plans for the most comprehensive coverage ever offered in Canada for a Paralympic Games – more than 65 hours of broadcast and up to 350 hours of digital streaming, connecting Canadians via multi platforms.

Through a pioneering new broadcast model, the Canadian Paralympic Committee has secured the Canadian broadcast rights to the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games and RIO 2016. The CPC will lead the Paralympic Broadcast Consortium partners in creating coverage on five broadcast/digital platforms: CBC/Radio-Canada, Sportsnet (through an agreement with CBC), Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) and Yahoo Canada Sports.

In addition, SendtoNews will distribute full news access highlights to all Canadian media for both broadcast and digital usage at no cost to users.

“This innovative model will bring the excitement and drama of the Paralympic Games in Sochi back home to Canada and connect with all Canadians,” said Gaétan Tardif, president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee. “This new partnership provides an opportunity for the CPC to increase awareness of the Paralympic movement in Canada and bring unprecedented value to our corporate partners.”

“During the London 2012 Paralympic Games, we saw broadcast records soar across many continents. In Canada, Canadians told us that they wanted more Paralympic Games coverage on television – and the CPC listened and acted,” said Martin Richard, executive director of communications and marketing. "Each media partner brings a unique element to the table allowing us to widen the scope of the coverage, yet share a common goal and passion of telling our athletes' incredible stories and exciting athletic achievements."

Canadian Paralympic athletes – who have long been asking for enhanced coverage – were thrilled to hear of the plans.

“This is an incredibly exciting day for Canadian Paralympic sport,” said Brian McKeever, a 10-time Paralympic medallist in para-Nordic skiing. “The visibility and support that Team Canada’s athletes will experience through the Paralympic Broadcast Consortium will be a great morale boost to all of us competing in Sochi, knowing that our loved ones back home, as well as all Canadians, will be able to follow the action and cheer on their team.”

“We are thankful to our corporate partners for investing in growing the awareness of the Paralympic brand through broadcast and digital media,” added Tardif. “We anticipate that Canadians will enthusiastically embrace this unparalleled opportunity to follow their team on television, online and mobile.”

“Congratulations to the Canadian Paralympic Committee on this ground-breaking initiative to bring the Sochi Paralympic Games into the homes of Canadians,” said the Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport). “Our government is proud to support Canada’s para-athletes, and all Canadians look forward to cheering them on when they compete against the best in the world next year in Sochi.” 

Detailed schedules of coverage on all platforms will be announced closer to Games time, as will on-air talent, which will include Paralympian commentators.

Consortium coverage of the Paralympic Broadcast Consortium will be supported by a Team Canada mobile application offering digital streams, video-on-demand and results for people on the go; CPC digital media: paralympic.ca/sochi2014 and paralympique.ca/sotchi2014; CPC social media outlets: facebook.com/CDNParalympics, @CDNParalympics, instagram.com/CDNParalympics and youtube.com/CDNParalympics.