WOWOW PARTNERS WITH THE INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE FOR PARA-ATHLETES SPORTS DOCUMENTARY SERIES
First-of-Its-Kind Partnership is Part of Five-Year Agreement Leading Up to Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
Tokyo, Japan – July 9, 2015 – WOWOW, Japan’s leading premium pay TV broadcaster, today announced they have greenlighted a para-athletes sports documentary series, in collaboration with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), as part of a five-year agreement leading up to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
This is the first time that IPC is directly collaborating with a TV broadcasting network to produce a documentary series to increase awareness of the Paralympic Movement on a global scale including Asia.
Principal photography for the series will begin this month at the IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland and will broadcast on WOWOW Prime in 2016.
The documentary series (currently untitled) will focus on the stories of a number of para-athletes and will follow their journey to the Rio 2016, Pyeongchang 2018, and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
“We are extremely honored to be collaborating with IPC on the production of this exciting documentary series. I strongly believe that ‘diversity’ is one of the most important keywords of our future,” said Nobuya Wazaki, Chairman of WOWOW. “Through this series, we hope to further increase the awareness of IPC’s vision and hope to help viewers overcome obstacles of their own no matter their age, race, sex, National origin, religion or disability.”
Added IPC President Sir Philip Craven “We are delighted to partner with WOWOW to produce this documentary series. Athletes are at the heart of the Paralympic Movement and it is their performances and stories that help act as a catalyst for greater inclusion in society. There are so many amazing stories to tell about para-athletes and I look forward to watching the series between now and Tokyo 2020.”
This para-athletes sports documentary series adds to WOWOW’s strong presence in the sports broadcasting landscape through WOWOW Live, the channel that brings exclusive live broadcasts of the world’s greatest sports events including all four Grand Slam Championships – Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and a variety of other sports events including the NBA, La Liga Española, LPGA, UFC, and many more.
Beyond sports, WOWOW continues to produce original content and deliver the highest quality entertainment under the concept of their corporate message “new encounter as you watch.” Among the slate of documentary projects produced by WOWOW (with international co-production partners) are “Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno Live” – documenting the stage version of Rossellini’s award-winning and critically acclaimed “Green Porno” series; “Finding 1984” – a new documentary inspired by George Orwell’s dystopian political novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (sometimes published as 1984); Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi’s documentary “A 50 Year Argument;” “Cathedrals of Culture,” directed by Wim Wenders and Robert Redford; “Cameron Carpenter: The Rebirth of Majesty,” directed by Thomas Grube; and the new crowdsourced TV documentary “Sacred,” about humankind’s search for the divine, taking viewers on a spectacular journey through 365 days of spiritual life on Earth.
About WOWOW
WOWOW is Japan’s leading premium pay TV broadcaster with approximately 2.8 million subscribers and the first 24/7, 3 channel, full-HD broadcaster in Japan. With a focus on quality entertainment and exceptional customer service, WOWOW has seen nine years of continuous net growth in subscribers. As of July 2011, all of the company’s subscribers are now on a digital subscription, which includes access to WOWOW’s groundbreaking Members On Demand service.
Listed in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock exchange, WOWOW’s subscription offering includes 3 premium Full-HD channels and a streaming service:
WOWOW Prime covers a wide range of genres, including 7 popular overseas TV drama series per week along with our original series, movies, and documentaries. WOWOW Prime is also the official channel for the live broadcasts of both the Oscars and the Grammy Awards in Japan.
WOWOW Live brings exclusive live broadcasts of the world’s greatest sports events along with live concerts and stage performances. Sports featured on WOWOW Live include the NBA, La Liga Española, LPGA, UFC, and more.
WOWOW Cinema carries titles from all major studios and a lineup of approximately 1400 movie titles from all over the world. WOWOW Cinema provides an experience to the world of cinema through a selective collection of movies.
WOWOW Members On Demand offers subscribers the ability to view our quality programming anywhere and anytime. The streaming service features live events and sports as well as popular series and movies.
About International Paralympic Committee
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. Its purpose is to organise the summer and winter Paralympic Games and act as the International Federation for 10 sports, supervising and co-ordinating World Championships and other competitions.
The vision of the IPC, run by 200 members, is ‘To enable para-athletes to achieve sporting excellence and inspire and excite the world.’
Founded on September 22, 1989 as a non-profit organisation, it is based in Bonn, Germany and aims to develop sports opportunities for all people with impairment from the beginner to elite level.
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