With Paralympics Streaming Starting, Here’s a Look at the Games’ Historic Link to the Military
Starting this week, U.S. service members and honorably discharged Veterans worldwide will be able to stream NBCUniversal’s record coverage of the Tokyo Paralympic Games from their personal devices and computers through ShopMyExchange.com.
The games begin Tuesday in Tokyo and will run through Sept. 5. Associates are also encouraged to watch and enjoy, and to share their experience with shoppers, reminding them that streaming is available to all current service members, honorably discharged veterans and retirees.
The Paralympics have a historic connection to the military. According to the International Paralympic Committee, sports for athletes with impairments have existed for more than 100 years. But the concept wasn’t widely introduced until World War II, when it was broadened to assist Veterans and civilians who had been injured during the war.
At the request of the British Government, Dr. Ludwig Guttman opened a spinal injuries center at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. Within a few years, rehabilitation athletics turned into a competitive sport. Guttman organized the Stoke Mandeville Games, the first competition for wheelchair athletes, involving 16 injured servicemen and women in an archery contest. The Games debuted on the same day that the London 1948 Olympics opened.
The Stoke Mandeville Games became the much larger Paralympic Games in 1960 with a competition in Rome. Since then, the summer games have occurred every four years. In 1976, the Winter Paralympics debuted in Sweden. Since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, the Paralympics have taken place in the same city as the Olympics, through an agreement between the International Paralympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee. (For more on Paralympics history from the International Paralympic Committee, click here.)
This is the third time that the Exchange has worked with NBCUniversal on the streaming effort, in partnership with local cable, satellite, dMVPD and telco providers. Through this arrangement, U.S. service members, honorably discharged Veterans worldwide and associates can stream more than 1,000 hours of the Tokyo Paralympics on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app, via authentication.
The streaming coverage will include simul-streams of all NBCUniversal linear channels, including three nights of primetime coverage on the broadcast network, which marks a Paralympics first, as well as roughly 800 hours of additional competition coverage. Top stories and moments, as well as athlete profiles and interviews, will be featured throughout the Paralympic Games with a special focus on the athletes of Team USA.
Service members can access NBCUniversal’s coverage via their computers or personal devices by visiting NBCOlympics.com or the NBC Sports app and choosing the Exchange as their service provider.
Because of content rights restrictions, an active ShopMyExchange.com account will be required. Viewers outside the continental United States must be physically located on-installation at a military location with internet service through an authorized internet service provider to gain access. An authorized provider is one which has partnered with the Exchange on the technical solutions allowing streaming viewership on U.S. military installations in OCONUS.
Additional information is available on the Exchange’s online community Hub.
For more information on NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Tokyo Paralympics, click here.
