The Paris Paralympics brought in athletes from a record 169 delegations for the Games, which ran from August 29 to September 8. But, that was far from the only record the Paris Paralympics broke, as the Games smashed previous broadcast and viewership records, based on Nielsen Sports research the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) released on April 4th.
With more platforms and countries screening the ten-day event than ever, the total hours of live coverage went up, viewers watched a record number of live hours, and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies brought in their biggest live audiences. Further, Paralympic-related internet searches crossed the one billion barrier for the first time, showing the viewers’ expanding interest in the Games. In fact, “Paralympics” placed fifth in the United States’ top Google news searches of 2024.
In total, worldwide viewers watched 763.3 million hours of live coverage of the Paris Paralympic Games, up 83% from viewership of the Tokyo Games. This record-breaking amount of viewership was made possible in part by the 12,941 hours of coverage, 10,428 of which showed live events.
The overall number of hours broadcast from the Paris Paralympics was up 48% from the Tokyo Games and 154% more than Rio 2016. Further, for the first time in Paralympic history, the same amount of live coverage was available for all 22 Paralympic sports.
Nearly 349.8 million people tuned in for the Opening Ceremony, breaking the previous record for a cumulative TV audience. The Closing Ceremony broke its viewership record as well, with 193.6 million people watching on TV.
IPC CEO Mike Peters said, “Thanks to the outstanding performances of the Paralympians in these iconic venues in Paris, the tremendous work of Media Rights Holders around the world, the breath-taking images provided by the Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), and the dedication of the IPC’s own broadcasting team, Paris 2024 broke pretty much every Paralympic broadcasting record…more people than ever before had the opportunity to enjoy the Games across several platforms. We are extremely happy with the results as they underline the growing global interest and attraction of the Paralympic Games.”
Jon Stainer, the Global General Manager of Nielsen Sports added, “This record-breaking amount of consumption for a Paralympic Games is testament to the IPC and broadcasters in continuing to make the Games accessible. It is also a sign of the growing appetite of consumers around the world for Para sport. These figures act as a perfect platform for commercial and fan growth ahead of both the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games and the LA28 Paralympic Games.”
Para swimming generated the second-most airtime at the Games with 860 hours, second only to Para athletics’ 1,648 broadcast hours. However, Para swimming edges athletics in terms of cumulative audience across the entire Games. 1.3 billion people watched Para swimming over the ten-day competition compared to Para athletics’ 1.2 billion, though athletics had an extra day of competition.
The most decorated athlete at the Games came from the pool, as China’s Jiang Yuyan won seven gold medals in La Defense Arena.
