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Channel 4 launches all day everyday coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games

Channel 4 has unveiled plans to air unprecedented amounts of coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, a revolutionary new graphics system designed to aid the understanding of Paralympic classification and its Paralympic presenter pairings were also confirmed.

The news was announced at a launch event which Pitch and Channel 4 developed to provide a full briefing to media and stakeholders.

Seb Coe, chairman of LOCOG who was also in attendance at the event, said: “Channel 4’s LEXI will provide spectators with a clear explanation of the different classifications for Paralympic sports. This will not only help spectators further appreciate the performance of athletes but will also help leave a greater understanding of disability sport.”

Coverage:

Channel 4 announced it will air 150 hours of Paralympic coverage across the 12 days of the Games. With the channel‘s schedule cleared for the duration of the Games.

Live sport will also be aired on Channel4.com as well as Paralympic dedicated apps for mobiles and tablets that are compatible with IOS and android. The apps will be free to download and they will allow the user to watch live streaming of Paralympic events and also catch clips from the days sporting events.

Presenters:

Channel 4 also confirmed the pairings of their Paralympic presenters, who will be fronting the all day-everyday coverage. That Paralympic Show host, Rick Edwards, will present the breakfast show with Daraine Mulvihill, who was discovered in Channel 4’s disabled presenting talent search. Former Olympian, Jonathan Edwards, will be joined by Kelly Cates, who brings her extensive sports broadcasting experience to the mid-morning coverage.

Another talent search success, Arthur Williams, will present the afternoon action with seasoned sports presenter Georgie Bingham. Former Paralympian and Channel 4 regular, Ade Adepitan, joins leading broadcaster, Clare Balding, to host Channel 4’s daily peak time coverage. The acclaimed Australian comedian and broadcaster, Adam Hills, will wrap up all the events of the day in a highlights show with a difference. Established Channel 4 news anchor, Jon Snow, will front the coverage of both the Opening and Closing ceremonies. Channel 4 also introduced a line-up of new presenting talent who will act as reporter during the Paralympic Games; they were all discovered through Channel 4’s national talent search for new disabled presenters.

 Lexicon Decoder:

Channel 4, alongside Paralympic gold-medal winning swimmer Giles Long has developed a graphics system, Lexicon Decoder (LEXI) designed to demystify the classification system that currently exists in Paralympic sport.

LEXI will help viewers to understand that what they are watching on screen is fair and will be used as an analytical tool before races across eights sports during this summer’s Games.

Further Reading