Toyota Motor Corporation will return as the presenting sponsor of the 2024 Paralympic Games on NBC Universal-owned broadcast and cable channels and Comcast-owned Peacock, the companies said on Friday.
The automaker previously served as the presenting sponsor of the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games, which were delayed to 2021 due to the coronavirus health pandemic, and was one of the main sponsors of NBC’s coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games from Paris.
“Toyota is proud to return as the presenting sponsor of NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Paralympic Games Paris 2024,” said Mike Tripp, the Group Vice President of Marketing at Toyota. “We are excited to watch our Team Toyota athletes, and this incredible gathering of elite competitors come together in Paris to strive for gold.”
In addition to Toyota, NBC Universal says it has seen a 60 percent lift in ad buying compared to the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in Tokyo. One big reason might have to do with the way NBC Universal is offering ad inventory during the 2024 Summer Paralympics, which includes opportunities to buy programmatically and private marketplace bidding for engaged audience segments through a partnership with The Trade Desk. (The Desk is not associated with The Trade Desk.)
NBC Universal is also opening up additional advertising opportunities, including shoppable ads through a program it calls “Virtual Concessions,” which gives delivery companies the ability to target hungry or thirsty sports fans by allowing them to purchase food or beverages through connected platforms and have those items delivered right to their homes.
Related: Special coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympic & Paralympic Games
It isn’t clear if any delivery company has taken NBC Universal up on their offer for Virtual Concessions — there was practically no mention of the perk during the 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Peacock or on Comcast’s X1 and Xumo connected TV platforms — but things could be different for the 2024 Summere Paralympics. NBC Universal offered no insight to this effect in its announcement on commercial partnerships this week, but there will be plenty of opportunities, with the company set to produce 1,500 hours of live coverage across 22 Paralympic competitions.
“Coming off of our highly successful Paris Olympic Games, we are thrilled to continue bringing world-class athletic competition to audiences across the country with the 2024 Paralympic Games,” Dan Lovinger, the President of Olympic and Paralympic Partnerships at NBC Universal, said in a statement. “With the lights of Paris shining the biggest spotlight on Paralympic athletes, we are partnering with brands like Toyota, whose passion for innovation and commitment to empowering all people truly embodies the Paralympic spirit. Toyota’s dedication to supporting these incredible moments both enhances the viewer experience and strengthens the bond between our audience and these inspiring athletes. Our unprecedented roster of advertisers for Paris 2024 is further validation of the growth and overall health of the Paralympic movement.”
Around 140 hours of television coverage will be offered on NBC Universal’s flagship broadcast network, NBC, and cable channels USA Network and CNBC. The rest will be available to stream live through subscription-based Peacock, or through the NBC Sports app if a user subscribes to cable or satellite.
In addition to live feeds of each Paralympic event, NBC Universal will revive “Gold Zone” and multiview through Peacock for the 2024 Paralympic Games. Gold Zone offers live looks into different in-progress events, while multiview allows streamers to stay on top of multiple live matches from a single sport. Both features were highly praised during NBC’s coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
