“Can I offer you a pen, Delphine? smiled Tony Estanguet. The scene takes place on the fifth floor of the Paris 2024 headquarters, in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis). ” Did you see ? You can see the Stade de France from here. You can even see the future village. This Monday afternoon, Delphine Ernotte has an appointment with the president of the Paris 2024 organizing committee to sign a new confidential contract: that of the TV rights for the next Summer Paralympic Games, which will be played at home in two years, from August 24 to September 8.
“We fought for them. It is a pride for us to cover this competition, assures the boss of the public audiovisual group, which had already won the Paris Olympics in April 2019. Events like this happen every 10 years. This project will revitalize the company. We’ll get to it tomorrow. »
At his side, Tony Estanguet, also has a smile. “This choice is strategic for us,” he underlines. We wanted to put the Paralympic Games in good conditions for success. It is the third sporting event in the world, after the Olympic Games and the Football World Cup. Rather than being part of continuity, we needed a break to position the Paralympics at the level they deserve, even if we are not yet used to it in France. With France Télévisions, we are going to take a real step. Like us, they will invest and take a risk. »
“Round-the-clock coverage”
To make its choice, Paris 2024 questioned all of the broadcasters, with a stated desire: “Changing the view of disability”. A call for tenders was then launched last October, with detailed specifications. According to our information, the quantitative aspect accounted for 50% in the rating of the projects studied.
France Télévisions will therefore offer “24-hour coverage”, with the retransmission of the opening and closing ceremonies, one prime time per evening on France 2 or France 3, “paraclub” programs, summaries and repeat broadcasts night. As well as the francetv.fr platform, as for the Olympic Games. And above all, 300 hours of live broadcast on the two main channels (and sometimes France 4 as well), non-stop from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., will be devoted to all of the twenty-two sports, a first in the history of this event. That is three times more than for the Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2020, which had attracted an average of 4.4 million French people per day.
And even ten times more airtime than for London in 2012, with, in particular, blind football at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, para-archery at the Invalides, para-horse-riding in the gardens of the Château de Versailles. “We let go of the horses, summarizes Delphine Ernotte, accompanied by Laurent-Éric Le Lay, the boss of Sports. Moreover, we are going to produce three disciplines that have not been captured until now: wheelchair fencing, para-taekwondo and weightlifting. »
“We broke our piggy bank”
France Télévisions will also set up sustained training for journalists and intends to increase the presence of Paralympic athletes in the commentaries, taking the example of what Channel 4 is already doing in England. This semi-public channel has also won the rights for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, like NBC in the United States.
In France, the amount of these rights remains secret. We insist. “We broke our piggy bank,” concedes the president of the public service. In April 2019, it won the TV rights for the 2024 Olympics for around 100 million euros. “After two years of Covid, we are happy to project ourselves, she rejoices. It gives a little breath. »
And to add, joining the elevators: “Can I keep the pen, Tony? »
