Sport - Q1 New Year 2014 highlights

23 December 2013

The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games
Building on the BAFTA-award winning coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, which helped change attitudes towards disability, Channel 4 will be broadcasting live coverage from the XI IPC Winter Paralympic Games from Sochi, Russia.

Channel 4 and More4 will broadcast over 50 hours of live coverage over the ten days of competition, from the Opening Ceremony on Friday March 7th through to the last day of competition on Sunday March 16th – the greatest ever commitment to the Winter Paralympic Games from a UK broadcaster.  There will also be two further channels of live streaming available digitally, highlights on Channel 4 News and special editions of The Last Leg during the Games.

Athletes at the Winter Paralympic Games compete in five different sports: Alpine skiing, Biathlon, Cross-country skiing, Ice Sledge Hockey and Wheelchair curling.  Great Britain has competed in all 10 previous Winter Paralympics but they are yet to win their first gold medal and in Sochi, GB athletes will be represented in Alpine skiing and Wheelchair curling. 

The GB Wheelchair curling squad for Sochi was completed in December with the five members comprising of Aileen Neilson, Tom Killin, Gregor Ewan, Rob McPherson and Angie Malone.  The final GB Alpine skiing team will be confirmed in January but hopefuls include Kelly Gallagher – who won four medals at the  IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in February – and Jade Etherington who won bronze at the IPC World Cup finals in March.  

As at the London 2012 Paralympics, more than 50% of Channel 4’s presenters and reporters at Sochi will be disabled, with many of those who made their debut in 2012 returning on screen in 2014. There will also be a return for the ground-breaking LEXI decoder – which will help guide viewers through the different classifications involved in the Winter Paralympic sports.

 

NFL and Super Bowl XLVIII
The Super Bowl, America’s biggest sporting event, will broadcast live on Channel 4 – the new terrestrial home of the NFL..
Expect a star studded affair, with the 2014 final taking place in New York/New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on Sunday 2nd February.
Grammy-winner Bruno Mars will perform at halftime of the Super Bowl XLVIII.

With play-off places still up for grabs, Channel 4 will broadcast ‘American Football Live’ every Sunday night hosted by the legendary duo of Nat Coombs and Mike Carlson. 

On Saturday mornings Vernon Kay presents ‘The American Football Show’ featuring all the touchdowns, big hits and best action from the past week's NFL games.

 

 

Channel 4 Racing
In 2014 Channel 4 will devote more days to horseracing than ever before.
In 2014, British racing alone will secure 90 days of events, the equivalent of over 285 hours of terrestrial coverage on Channel 4 with racing from around the UK taking in some 31 UK racecourses - with a number of courses receiving multiple visits.  The annual hours include 63 Morning Line packages for Saturday fixtures and top level-racing such as the Cheltenham Festival, Grand National Meeting, Royal Ascot and King George VI Chase.

 

Cheltenham Festival, Cheltenham: Tuesday 11 – Friday 14 March
Four days of championships races – the Olympics of horseracing – enough said!

Crabbie’s Grand National Festival, Aintree: Thursday 3 – Saturday 5 April
Channel 4 returns to Aintree for their second showing of the three-day Crabbie’s Grand National Festival.  The nation’s favourite race, run over four miles three and half furlong has a £1 million bounty targeted by forty horses and jockeys.  Once again, Channel 4 will support the event with season programming, a strong marketing campaign and extensive event coverage.

Coral Scottish Grand National, Ayr Racecourse: Saturday, April 12
The pinnacle of jump racing in Scotland featuring the £180,000 Coral Scottish Grand National where up to 30 horses encounter 27 fences over four miles.  Some of the best handicap chasers will go to post in this Grade Three contest.