CHANNEL 4 UNVEILS WINTER PARALYMPICS COVERAGE PLANS AND PRESENTING LINE-UP

Channel 4 will proudly showcase an on-screen team of world-class presenters and para-athletes for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, reinforcing its long-standing commitment to inclusive representation.

Broadcasting more than 60 hours of sport live from the Italian Dolomites across Channel 4 and Channel 4 Streaming, with every minute of action on Channel 4 Sport’s YouTube, Channel 4 continues to build on its pioneering achievements of bringing audiences accessible Paralympics coverage.

All content will be subtitled, live broadcast coverage will have live audio description available from 10:30am each day, and the daily highlights programme will feature live British Sign Language translation. Plus, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies are to be simulcast on 4seven and Channel 4 Streaming with BSL and an open descriptive commentary. 

The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games begin on Friday 6th March, conclude on Sunday 15th March and mark the first Winter Paralympics in a UK-friendly time zone in 20 years.

Over the 10-day event, coverage starts at breakfast time and follows the live action throughout the day, with daily highlights each evening at 6:30pm. As well as broadcasting on Channel 4, every televised moment of the Winter Paralympics will also stream on Channel 4 Sport’s YouTube channel. 

Racing-driver-turned-presenter Billy Monger and adventurer and former rugby union player Ed Jackson host Paralympics Breakfast and coverage throughout the day, with award-winning presenter Ade Adepitan at the helm of the daily highlights.

Britain’s most decorated Paralympic athlete, Dame Sarah Storey, and multi-gold-medal Paralympic swimming champion Alice Tai join the team, reporting live from the different events in Cortina as well as meeting athletes and their friends and family. 

Former ParalympicsGB sit-skier Sean Rose returns as pundit, along with ex-ParalympicsGB alpine skier and medallist Jade Etherington as commentator. 

Dame Sarah Storey said: “I’m thrilled to be part of the Channel 4 presenting team for this year’s Winter Paralympics and can’t wait to get started. It’s a wonderful opportunity to see a Winter Games in person and to be tasked with sharing the stories of the incredible athletes taking part in Milano Cortina, as well as helping to bring their achievements and journeys to life for audiences across Channel 4.”

Ian Katz, Chief Content Officer at Channel 4, said: “We are incredibly proud to have such a fantastic on-screen team once again for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, whilst showcasing ParalympicsGB and the extraordinary British athletes competing on the world stage. Welcoming Dame Sarah Storey and Alice Tai to our presenting line-up alongside some of the UK’s most respected Paralympic broadcasters reflects our continued commitment to inclusive representation and championing talent.

“This Winter Paralympics sees us continue to work in partnership with the talented team at Whisper, with our remote production based at our state-of-the-art, accessible Cymru Broadcast Centre in Cardiff for a second Paralympics. The coverage reflects the scale of our ambition both on and off screen, from the studio high in the Dolomites to the skilled teams in Cardiff, as we deliver world-class, accessible coverage that brings audiences closer than ever to the drama, excitement and brilliance of the Winter Paralympics.”

Coverage of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games is produced for Channel 4 by Whisper, with the Cortina studio housed in a mountain-top restaurant 1,778 metres high in the Dolomites. The remote galleries and back-of-house production team will be based in Cardiff at Cymru Broadcast Centre, the state-of-the-art facility built for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

The behind-the-scenes team is made up of at least 25% who identify as disabled, with the majority having previously worked for and been supported in their career by Whisper and Channel 4. The team will also include a higher proportion of disabled talent in senior off-screen roles than ever before.

Channel 4 has been the official UK Paralympic broadcaster since taking over coverage of the Paralympics in 2012, with coverage of London 2012 regularly cited as a key moment in helping shift public perceptions around disability and disability sport. The Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter Games is overseen at Channel 4 by Pete Andrews, Channel 4’s Head of Sport and Joe Blake-Turner, Commissioning Editor, Sport. Executive producers for Whisper are Matt Roberts and Dame Sarah Storey.

More details will be announced in due course.