Channel 4 has named Allianz as coverage sponsor for Rio 2016 Paralympics
Channel 4 has firmed a deal with insurer Allianz to sponsor its coverage of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
The broadcaster is in search of one other sponsor for the event, following on from its dual partnership with BT and Sainsbury’s for the London 2012 Paralympics.
Allianz will fund a new original shorts series that will air through the broadcaster’s on-demand service All 4. The sponsorship deal also includes associated programming such as Adam Hills’s The Last Leg Live from Rio. There are 30 people with disabilities training for roles with the broadcaster's Rio production team.
The live coverage, which will air from 7 September, will be hosted by Clare Balding and Breaking Bad actor RJ Mitte, who played Walter White’s son.
Rob Ramsey, partnership leader at Channel 4, said: "The Paralympics is a sporting mega-brand that has a major positive impact on societies’ perception of disability."
Allianz is already an official partner of the British Paralympic Association and has been a partner of the International Paralympic Committee since 2006.
Nick Dudman, head of brand management at Allianz Insurance, said: "We’re looking forward to working with Channel 4 which has a strong track record in Paralympic sport coverage. But this is about more than sponsorship for us – it inspires us to keep improving our offering as the insurer of choice to a broad community, both as an employer and through our products."
Channel 4 today announced on 18 January that 2016, the year of the Paralympic Games in Rio, will be the broadcaster’s Year of Disability. This includes commitments to increase representation of disabled people within the broadcasting industry – both on and off-screen, including doubling the number of disabled people appearing in 20 of Channel 4’s biggest shows from Gogglebox, The Island, Grand Designs, Hollyoaks, and First Dates.