For the longest time, I have heard that you can’t really go out and monetise Olympics and Paralympics coverage. More so for the Paralympics. No one is really interested, and hence brands don’t care. In my capacity as Sports Editor with news television networks in the past, this was always a problem that I had to negotiate and overcome. Most marketing departments would come back and say they weren’t able to sell the event, and as a result, there was no way one could send reporters to cover it. Without money coming in, money spent on coverage was considered a waste.
Now as an entrepreneur, I realise how lame this excuse was. To hide their own inabilities, marketing teams would blame brands saying no one was really bothered. Ahead of the Paralympics, we reached out to a number of leading brands for support. And also to a number of brands which don’t normally advertise in sport. The outcome was exciting and rewarding. We had tremendous support for our Paralympics coverage, and two of the brands have since come back and suggested that we should work long term. The coverage of the Games is the kind of social impact many seek with sport, and the Paralympics, for many, worked perfectly.
With new-age marketing, I can say with certainty that the Paralympics is now a property that will grow in currency. Stories of the medal winners have started to resonate with the masses, and it is now a movement that more and more corporates will embrace. That’s where the media can make a difference. With sustained coverage, we can make sure that the 29-medal effort doesn’t go waste. When Navdeep Singh, for example, says that he is now being treated like a hero in India and, most importantly, being shown respect, that’s the real legacy we are after.
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It is reflective of a larger social change. If men and women with disabilities are treated with more sensitivity in India as a result of the Paralympic success, it points to larger social change and something we have been asking for years. The medals aren’t an end in themselves. Rather, they are catalysts for something deeper. And if we can all come together and make sure that there is wider social change, the legacy of the Paris Paralympics will be hugely positive for India.
We at RevSportz are hence delighted to announce the extension of our partnership with GameChanger Law Advisors, where we will work closely on issues of mental health, social impact and sports law. And in doing so, try and make some real change in the way we see and perceive sport and disability sport in India. To paraphrase what Abhinav Bindra says, “The Paralympic Games don’t come every four years. They come every day.” And unless there is regular coverage of Paralympic sport and its social impact, we can’t expect to make the most of the Paris 2024 opportunity.
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