Tokyo Paralympics Feature Record Programming Across NBCUniversal, Beginning With Opening Ceremony on August 24 Live on NBCSN
August 17, 2021
Live Coverage of Opening Ceremony Presented in One Week on Tuesday, Aug. 24, at 7 a.m. ET on NBCSN
1,200 Hours of Paralympic Programming from Tokyo, Including First-Ever Primetime Coverage on NBC
Live Competition Coverage Begins Tuesday, Aug. 24, at 10 p.m. ET
Commentator Roster of 16 to Anchor Unprecedented Coverage Across NBCUniversal
Telemundo to Present Two Highlight Specials, Lo Mejor de los Paralimpicos Tokyo 2020 por Telemundo, Centered on Hispanic Athletes and Accomplishments by Women During the Games
STAMFORD, Conn. – Aug. 17, 2021 – In its most ambitious effort ever, NBCUniversal will be presenting a record 1,200 hours of Tokyo Paralympic Games coverage, beginning with live coverage of the Opening Ceremony in one week on Tuesday, August 24, at 7 a.m. ET on NBCSN. NBCU’s unprecedented coverage will include more than 200 hours of television coverage, the first-ever primetime hours on NBC, live coverage of the Opening Ceremony and Closing Ceremony on NBCSN, and exclusive streaming coverage on NBC Sports digital platforms and Peacock. Click here for more details.
Programming highlights include:
- Throughout the Tokyo Paralympics, NBCSN will provide daily live coverage totaling over 135 hours, commonly between 9 p.m. – 9 a.m. ET (see schedule below for more details). Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.
- NBCSN will present live coverage of the Opening Ceremony in one week on Tuesday, August 24, at 7 a.m. ET, and live coverage of the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, September 5 at 7 a.m. ET. Additional live competition coverage and extensive encores will be televised on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA.
- There will be six windows of coverage on NBC. Three of the windows will air in primetime, a Paralympics first, and be presented as a docu-follow series that will showcase the incredible back stories of the athletes and teams competing in Tokyo.
- More than 1,000 hours of Tokyo Paralympic coverage will stream across NBCOlympics.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock. NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app will live stream all television coverage as well as coverage of Archery, Badminton, Boccia, Canoe, Track Cycling, Equestrian, Goalball, Judo, Marathon, Rowing, Shooting, Sitting Volleyball, Soccer 5-a-side, Swimming, Table Tennis, Track & Field, Triathlon, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby, and Wheelchair Tennis.
- Peacock will feature medal round action in multiple sports, including men’s and women’s Wheelchair Basketball and Women’s Sitting Volleyball, all three of which were won by Team USA at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, plus Wheelchair Rugby and Marathon races. All Peacock coverage will also air on television.
- Telemundo Deportes will present two special highlights shows, titled Lo Mejor de los Paralimpicos Tokyo 2020 por Telemundo, centered on Hispanic athletes and accomplishments by women. Both shows will be hosted by Emmy Award nominee Ana Jurka and Emmy Award winner Miguel Gurwitz. The specials will air on Telemundo and Telemundo digital platforms, encore on Universo later on the same day, and also be available on Peacock.
- Accessibility features for all television and Peacock coverage include closed captioning (CC) and audio description (AD) to ensure viewers enjoy the accomplishments and stories of the Paralympic athletes. Audio description is provided by Descriptive Video Works. Digital live streams with closed captions and audio description will also be available on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app. More details are available here.
The 16 commentators who will anchor NBCU’s record coverage features NBC Paralympic hosts Ahmed Fareed and Carolyn Manno, play-by-play commentators including Todd Harris and Bill Spaulding, reporters Lewis Johnson, Alana Nichols and Heather Cox, and five analysts with Paralympic experience, including Chris Waddell and Paul Schulte, who collectively have won 30 Paralympic medals. Click here for the full commentator roster.
Below is NBCUniversal’s Tokyo Paralympic Games programming schedule (subject to change):
| Date | Event(s) | Time (ET) | Network/Streaming |
| Tuesday, Aug. 24 | Opening Ceremony | 7-10 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Opening Ceremony | 7-10 p.m.* | NBCSN | |
| Swimming, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby, Track Cycling | 10 p.m.-3 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Wednesday, Aug. 25 | Swimming, Wheelchair Rugby, Track Cycling | 3-9 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Swimming, Wheelchair Rugby, Track Cycling | 3-9 p.m.* | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | |
| Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby, Track Cycling, Goalball | 8 p.m.-3 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Thursday, Aug. 26 | Swimming, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby, Track Cycling | 3-9 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Swimming, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby, Track Cycling | 3-9 p.m.* | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | |
| Track & Field, Wheelchair Tennis, Wheelchair Rugby, Track Cycling, Goalball | 9 p.m.-3 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Friday, Aug. 27 | Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby, Judo | 3-9 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Triathlon, Track & Field | 5:30-9:30 p.m. | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | |
| Saturday, Aug. 28 | Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby | Midnight-3 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball, Goalball | 3-9 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Triathlon, Table Tennis, Rowing | 5:30 p.m. -1 a.m. | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | |
| Sunday, Aug. 29 | Wheelchair Rugby Final, Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Tennis, Rowing | 1-8:30 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Wheelchair Rugby Final | 5-7 a.m. | NBCSN, Peacock | |
| Highlights Show | 12-1:30 p.m. | NBC, Peacock | |
| Lo Mejor de los Paralimpicos Tokyo 2020 por Telemundo | 2-3 p.m. | Telemundo | |
| Lo Mejor de los Paralimpicos Tokyo 2020 por Telemundo | 4-5 p.m. | Universo | |
| Primetime Highlights Show | 7-8 p.m. | NBC, Peacock | |
| Wheelchair Rugby Final (encore), Wheelchair Tennis, Table Tennis | 9 p.m. -3 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Monday, Aug. 30 | Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball, Sitting Volleyball | 3-9 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball, Sitting Volleyball | 3-9 p.m.* | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | |
| Wheelchair Basketball, Road Cycling, Sitting Volleyball | 9 p.m.-3 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Tuesday, Aug. 31 | Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball, Road Cycling | 3-9 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball, Road Cycling | 3-9 p.m.* | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | |
| Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball, Road Cycling | 9 p.m.-3 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Wednesday, Sept. 1 | Wheelchair Tennis Final, Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball | 3-9 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Wheelchair Tennis Final, Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball | 3-9 p.m.* | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | |
| Track & Field, Road Cycling, Wheelchair Tennis, Table Tennis | 9 p.m.-3 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Thursday, Sept. 2 | Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball, Road Cycling | 3-9 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball, Road Cycling | 3-9 p.m.* | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | |
| Track & Field, Road Cycling, Wheelchair Tennis, Canoe | 9 p.m.-3 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Friday, Sept. 3 | Goalball Final, Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball | 3-9 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Goalball Final, Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball | 3-9 p.m.* | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | |
| Men’s Sitting Volleyball Team Bronze Medal Match, Track & Field, Wheelchair Tennis, Canoe | 10 p.m.-3 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Saturday, Sept. 4 | Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Final, Sitting Volleyball Final, Track & Field | 3-9 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Final | 7-8:45 a.m. | NBCSN, Peacock | |
| Marathon | 5:30-9:30 p.m. | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, Peacock | |
| Primetime Highlights Show | 8-9 p.m. | NBC, Peacock | |
| Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Final, Women’s Sitting Volleyball Final | 9 p.m.-3 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Women’s Sitting Volleyball Final | 9-11 p.m. | NBCSN, Peacock | |
| Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Final | 11:15 p.m.-1 a.m. | NBCSN, Peacock | |
| Sunday, Sept. 5 | Closing Ceremony | 7-9 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Lo Mejor de los Paralimpicos Tokyo 2020 por Telemundo | Noon-1 p.m. | Telemundo | |
| Lo Mejor de los Paralimpicos Tokyo 2020 por Telemundo | 2-3 p.m. | Universo | |
| Primetime Highlights Show | 7-9 p.m. | NBC, Peacock | |
| Saturday, Sept. 11 | Highlights Show | 3-5 p.m. | NBC, Peacock |
| Sunday, Sept. 12 | Highlights Show | 1:30-3 p.m. | NBC, Peacock |
*Encore
