Visability of disabled would have stagnated if BBC still had Paralympics, says top athlete
ATHLETE Jonnie Peacock claims representation of the disabled on television would not have progressed if the Paralympics had stayed on the BBC.
Channel 4 will air its third games after taking over from the BBC for the 2012 Paralympics, pledging that 70 per cent of presenters leading 300 hours of Tokyo coverage will have a disability.
Paralympian Mr Peacock, who won gold in London and Rio de Janeiro T44 men’s 100 metres, has claimed representation of the disabled would have stagnated if the games had remained on the BBC. The sprinter said: “The visibility of disabled people today in the UK is 90 per cent attributable to Channel 4.
“If Paralympics coverage had stayed the way the BBC did it for years, it wouldn’t have moved forward.
“C4’s the best in terms of equality full stop and they’re going bigger and better with each Paralympics.” Channel 4’s inaugural Paralympics schedule promised an increase in coverage from the BBC’S previous Beijing broadcasts and ultimately achieved almost six times its rival’s peak audience for the prior games, with 11.2 million compared with 2.8 million viewers.
The BBC’S loss of broadcast rights and the success of its rival caused consternation at the time, with Gary Lineker saying that it was a “shame” for his employers.
Peacock will be going for gold in Tokyo, having been selected to compete in the T64 100 metres and 4x100 metre relay in his sixth games.
The BBC was contacted for comment.