Channel 4 has signed agreements with Toyota and BP to become joint sponsors of programming across the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on 4.
The two deals will see official IPC and BPA partners Toyota and BP share sponsorship equally, spanning programming across Channel 4, More4 and All 4, including build up programming, unrivalled live coverage during the Games, highlights and entertainment shows bringing audiences up-to-date with all the latest news and action in the way only Channel 4 can.
BP first
The agreement with Toyota follows on from a successful 2018 Paralympic Winter Games partnership with Channel 4, whilst the deal with BP marks the company’s first TV sponsorship with the broadcaster.
Channel 4 is aiming to deliver more hours of coverage of live sport than from any previous Paralympic Summer Games shown in the UK, including almost 200 hours on Channel 4 and More 4.
Dual sponsorship and branding
The partnerships will see dual sponsorship branding on All 4 and site sponsorship of the dedicated Channel 4 Paralympics website paralympics.channel4.com which will carry live streaming throughout the Games from Tokyo from 25 August to 6 September.
This marks the first time Paralympic content will carry sponsorship across linear, digital and social platforms.
Social media presence
On social, there will be a substantial presence in the build up to and during the games, with exclusive behind the scenes content prominent from January 2020 through diary exerts from ParalympicsGB hopefuls across C4 owned social platforms.
Both sponsors will benefit from branding across the channels highly anticipated marketing around the games – following on from the multi-award winning 2012 ‘Superhumans’ and 2016 ‘We Are The Superhumans’ campaigns.
Working in collaboration with Channel 4’s Sports Commissioning team, both sponsors will also co-develop and create editorial content to run across Channel 4 linear and digital platforms.
“Following the great success of the Rio games, we are thrilled to be building on our partnership with Toyota, whilst joining forces with BP for the first time in a major collaboration that will take coverage of the Tokyo Paralympic Games 2020 to a new level”, Jonathan Allan, Channel 4 chief commercial officer said.
Award-winning coverage
Andrew Cullis, director- Communications & Product, Toyota (GB) said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Channel 4 for their award-winning Paralympic coverage, continuing a long and hugely successful relationship.
“Tokyo 2020 is an extremely important and exciting time for the Toyota brand as our business begins its evolution from an automotive manufacturer to a mobility company and we look forward to bringing this to life through this partnership and beyond.”
Channel 4 is building on its multi-award-winning coverage of the Paralympics in Rio in 2016 which saw 700 hours of live coverage across its platforms.
Off screen, Channel 4’s Paralympic Trainee Scheme (PTS) has returned for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Under the scheme 16 trainees are currently undergoing on the job training with independent production companies around the UK. Those who successfully complete their training could be in line to join the production team working on Channel 4’s Tokyo Paralympic coverage.
The latest deal was negotiated by Channel 4’s sales house, 4 Sales, and Toyota’s and BP’s media agency m/SIX and Mindshare respectively.