1/2/2006

Media Alert - Live Webcast from Torino on ParalympicSport.TV

Bonn, Germany – The Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games will mark the beginning of a new level of broadcasting coverage for Paralympic sport, establishing a unique opportunity to connect with a worldwide audience. It will be the first time that all sports of the Paralympic Winter Games can be seen worldwide: via an Internet television channel.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) will, in its capacity as an International Federation (IF) for 13 sports, also be the first IF to launch is own Internet television channel: www.paralympicsport.tv. The channel will be launched and fully operational beginning 20 February 2006.

ParalympicSport.TV will be a top quality 24/7 television channel broadcasting via the Internet, free of charge. This means that people all over the world will be able to watch live broadcasts, or see the coverage ‘on demand’ at a time convenient to them. Developed and managed by Narrowstep Inc., ParalympicSport.TV will underline the truly global nature of Paralympic broadcasting. Narrowstep’s technology is the most comprehensive system in the world for managing, protecting, distributing and commercializing video content. The implementation of the new channel is co-ordinated by the IPC together with brand stage, a Hamburg based marketing agency.

Webcasting offers an opportunity for a targeted delivery of content to a global interest group. ParalympicSport.TV will allow the IPC to reach a new audience of enthusiastic viewers and provide a commercially successful broadcasting platform.

Samsung and Visa are the first presenting sponsors to join ParalympicSport.TV.

For further information, please contact Miriam Wilkens, IPC Media and Communication Director on +49-228-2097-180, e-mail: Miriam.wilkens@paralympic.org or http://www.paralympic.org,

For information on Narrowstep Inc contact Andria Allan or Clifford Webb on +44 207 731 424 email: aallan@narrowstep.com or cwebb@narrowstep.com

For information on brand stage GmbH contact Andreas F. Schneider or Markus Salzmann on +49 40 32 50 965 email: as@brand-stage.de or ms@brand-stage.de

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the international governing body of sports for athletes with a disability and acts as the International Federation for 13 sports. It supervises and co-ordinates the Paralympic Games and other multi-disability competitions as well as supporting the development of athletes at a local, national and international level.