The sporting world has suffered a terrible injustice. What is even worse is that most of the world is unaware of this injustice. While the NBC is broadcasting the triumphs and tragedies of the Olympics with over 3000 hours of coverage, the Paralympics are forgotten.
Do you know how many hours of coverage the NBC devoted to the 2012 Summer Olympics? 5535 hours.
Do you know how many hours they devoted to the 2012 Paralympics? 5.5.
Five-and-a-half hours. That means the Paralympics received less than 1% of the coverage of the Olympics, even though 4302 athletes participated from 164 countries. The thrill is there. The sports are there. Why won’t the NBC respect the Paralympics?
The canned answer the NBC usually gives to such questions is that it’s all in the numbers: people don’t watch the Paralympics. If there is no demand, there is no need to provide the service and waste the money on meaningless coverage. The truth is, though, that people will watch the Paralympics. At the 2012 Paralympics, over 2.3 million tickets were sold. In previous Paralympics, tickets were bought by the host governments and then given away. In London, virtually all of the tickets were sold. That means millions people were there, watching the drama of the Paralympics unfold. And there is growth. At least half again as many people watched the Sochi 2014 Paralympics as the Vancouver 2010 Paralympics. Clearly there is a demand for more.
The Paralympics are deserving of our attention. They are not “Pity Games.” They are the epitome of the ideals of Olympic sport: morality, perseverance, and personal strength. These people are colleagues, friends, and family members. They are us. We have so much to gain from reveling in their triumphs.
So stand with us! Tell NBC that the current Paralympic media coverage is inadequate. While truly equal coverage will require continuous proof of our dedication to the Paralympics, what needs to be done now is simple improvement. I’m not asking for equal coverage now. I’m asking for the NBC to allow us to prove our commitment to the Paralympics by offering more coverage. I bet that the more coverage they offer, the more viewers NBC will entice. It’s a win-win situation. Give us a few Olympics and before long, the world will be cheering for our Paralympic heroes with the same gusto as for the Olympians. We’ll prove it. Just give us a chance.
There it is, folks. Tell the NBC that they need to increase their news coverage of the Paralympics. Every signature is proof that we’ll make their efforts worthwhile.
