Why the Paralympics will probably never be as popular as the Olympics, but for the duration of the event’s 12 days why it should be the world’s dominant sporting event, according to Steve Boulton, head of development at deltatre Media.
Sports become popular because competitors become popular
Paralympians need to get a lot more coverage
Channel 4 is planning a special weekend of programming in August 2010 to mark two years until the Paralympic Games
Every four years, Olympic host cities have put on a bigger and better Paralympics. Broadcasters have devoted more time to the event in their schedules and I’m sure there’s still plenty of room for the Paralympics to grow in terms of audience. But how will this happen? My answer revolves around a simple theory I hold about why any sport becomes popular. It goes like this.
Sports become popular because competitors become popular. Competitors become popular because : 1. They have a compelling character. 2. They win (or lose) in epic battles after giving their all and despite adversity. 3. They represent your favourite team or country. 4. They break records (this becomes more important if they smash records).
Test this out with Muhammad Ali, Chris Evert, David Beckham, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, Lance Armstrong and Usain Bolt. I think, allowing a bit of leeway, it works.
Now, the only reason the public learns about these icons in the first place is because of the media exposure they receive. The biggest change that needs to happen if the Paralympics is to become more popular is that Paralympians need to get a lot more coverage. At that point I have no doubt that many of them will find a place in the hearts of the public based on my criteria above.
I don’t just say that as a hunch either. Before my present job, I used to be the series editor of Football Focus on [UK television channel] BBC1. When I wanted a bit of time to myself I used to sneak down to the TV studio’s production office when it was empty during the week. On one occasion, it coincided with a colleague of mine shooting a tribute film about Britain’s successful Paralympians in Beijing. One by one, champions would arrive in the office with Team GB kit on and gold medals hanging from their necks. While the production crew set up, I had the privilege of chatting with them. What a bunch of characters. Each of them seemed extremely down to earth, fiercely single minded, disciplined and above all very, very funny.
The filming was beautiful and captured each athlete in a relevant sporting pose. The camera would glide around them until they were looking directly into the lens at which point they’d deliver the line ‘This is who I am’. The studio would be silent up to that point. Every time the line came you were in no doubt how much it was meant. A genuine ‘hairs on the back of your neck’ moment.
The film was broadcast during BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2008 and on a night of several brilliant films it was the best of the lot. It’s just one example of the huge amount the BBC has done to promote Paralympic sports over the years and so I was quite shocked when it was announced in January that [rival UK channel] Channel 4 would be the official Paralympic broadcaster in the UK for London 2012.
However, as my present company, deltatre, has just provided Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics websites for NBC, CTV, NRK and BBC, it was natural for me to approach Channel 4 about the broadcaster’s plans. What I immediately discovered is that there is fantastic ambition. The television schedules will be thrown open for the event itself. 150 hours of TV coverage during the Games. On top of this Channel 4 is planning a special weekend of programming in August 2010 to mark two years until the Paralympic Games. This will be followed by a series of programmes that track athletes in the build up to the event.
There is also an aim to create a website where budding Paralympians can get guidance, encouragement and information. They’ll be able to follow the stories of those preparing for 2012 and the idea is to leave a legacy that future generations can draw inspiration from. To check how useful this would be to a youngster I asked my friend and former colleague Andy Gilbert who directs BBC football programmes. The reason I approached Andy is that he actually competed in the Paralympics of 1984 and 1988 winning three silver and four bronze medals.
Andy, who contracted polio as a baby, believes the creation of such a top quality website for disabled youngsters would be extremely beneficial. He explained that there was very little information available when he was growing up and that after moving home and leaving a disabled swimming club in Southampton, his Dad helped to set up a new club in Farnborough (The ‘Rushmoor Mallards’ are still going) in order to allow Andy and others to continue in competition.
Things have improved considerably since then according to Andy. Nowadays disabled sport has become elite sport with access to top coaches and training facilities. As a result there are many more serious rivalries and tight finishes between athletes - something that’s been crucial in Paralympic sport engaging more viewers (Andy remembers that UK television coverage in both 1984 and 1988 consisted of one highlights show of the entire event which was broadcast over the festive period, months after the Games).
Encouragingly, Andy honestly believes that London will be a landmark moment for the Paralympics. To maximise this opportunity Andy stresses the importance of telling the stories of Paralympians so that the public really care about them by the time they compete.
As my company, deltatre, specialises in competition websites (our NBC Olympics site won an Emmy) it would be remiss of me not to offer at least one important technical improvement that I think will help the Paralympics. During the Olympics, the level of live results data available is immense. deltatre is able to combine it with video so web users can find any moment they want during the games much more easily than has ever been possible before.
However, traditionally the data from the Paralympics is quite basic. I hope that in this day and age the organisers will insist that the Olympics and Paralympics have the same technical specification. If they want the Paralympics to reach the heights I’m sure it can, then they need to ensure the Olympics and Paralympics are treated equally professionally.
With that slight worry off my chest, I am very confident London 2012 will put on an amazing Olympic Games, and I’m just as confident that the Paralympic Games will take even greater strides towards the level of popularity that I’m not only sure the event deserves, but I’m also convinced it’s capable of attaining.
Steve Boulton is Head of Development at deltatre Media in Wimbledon, London. deltatre are a sports media specialist providing tv production, websites, results and graphics services. Contact steve.boulton@deltatre.com
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