Avery sent a message to Stephen Burke CEO, NBCUniversal, Inc. – email address that said:
Mr. Burke:
Does NBC not have the rights in the U.S. for the Paralympics? I don’t see any live Paralympics coverage available through the NBCSports website or app.
Being on vacation from work and having set up 7 screens in my house, this summer I spent--no exaggeration--over 300 hours watching the Rio Olympics through your broadcast and streaming offerings.
As grateful as I was to have NBC’s Olympics coverage, I am equally as disappointed by NBC’s lack of Paralympics coverage.
The Olympics matter because they bring into our homes some of the values the Games exemplify--respectful competition with our fellow humans against our physical and mental limits, in peaceful community of all the peoples of the world. The Paralympic Games put those same values on display, and so they matter just as much.
Given the extra challenges Paralympic athletes have to endure and overcome, a celebration of theses athletes’ athletic performances may matter even more than the Olympics.
I know the Paralympics don’t draw the ratings the Olympics do. But how can they if the Paralympics aren’t on TV or available through (legal) streaming? I believe it’s a chicken-and-egg dilemma. The more people are exposed to the Paralympics, the more they’ll want.
I’m neither disabled nor a competitive athlete, but I find the Paralympics to be as inspiring as anything I’ve ever seen. How is it possible to play soccer when you’re blind? How does a human with one leg run under 11 seconds in the 100m? How does one swim 50m in under 30 seconds? Hell, under a minute even? Actually, how is it possible to even stay afloat?
Watching the Paralympics is like witnessing Roger Bannister break 4 minutes or seeing Clay beat Liston. The only difference is that these remarkable feats of elite human skill and determination play out every single day, in every single event, throughout the Paralympics.
The Paralympics are--literally--amazing.
And they make for great stories. They form the perfect intersection of human-interest piece with athletic competition. The Paralympics need to receive the same coverage the Olympics enjoy. It’s not just a “feel-good” proposition; it makes business sense. If given the chance, Americans WILL tune in.
