SuperSport covering 22 sports at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics on 2 dedicated TV channels with a daily highlights package on SuperSport Blitz.

by Thinus Ferreira

The 2020 Tokyo Paralympics starts today, Tuesday 24 August with SuperSport that will broadcast over 380 hours of the Paralympics on SuperSport Variety 2 (DStv 207) and SuperSport Variety 3 (DStv 208).

SuperSport's Paralympics coverage will feature 22 sports that will get daily coverage from mornings to late evening events.

There will be a daily highlights package, broadcast every evening, with news and updates also featuring on SuperSport Blitz (DStv 200).

In addition, the SuperSport Grandstand (DStv 201) channel will curate the best content at any single time, while directing viewers to events that may be broadcasting elsewhere simultaneously.

SuperSport says that Paralympics coverage will also be extensively available on the DStv Now app, while Showmax Pro will stream all live events both in South Africa and across the continent.

Archive content, magazine shows, highlights and supplementary programming will also be available on Showmax and Showmax Pro.

SuperSport says that unlike the Olympics, in which every event is produced for international television networks, not every event at the Paralympics is produced and available for broadcast.

However, SuperSport and Showmax will employ a "best endeavours" approach to bring as much of the action as possible to viewers back home with a slant towards events with an African flavour.

Traditionally, major Paralympic sports like athletics, swimming, basketball, tennis and weightlifting receive the bulk of coverage, but SuperSport and Showmax will attempt to be even more inclusive.

The SuperSport Variety 2 and SuperSport Variety 3 channels will be available to DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact subscribers, while the highlights package on DStv Variety 4 will also be extended to DStv Access subscribers.