Accessible Media Inc. announces plans for record coverage of Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games

Paralympic Broadcast Consortium coverage will be most comprehensive ever offered in Canada for a Paralympic Games

TORONTO, Nov. 27, 2013 /CNW/ - With 100 days to go to the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) is thrilled to announce its role in the inaugural Paralympic Broadcast Consortium, which will deliver the most comprehensive coverage ever offered in Canada for a Paralympic Games.

AMI is a not-for-profit media company whose mission is to make accessible media for all Canadians through closed captioning and described video. AMI's coverage of the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games will include bilingual described video of all television coverage and a three-part original documentary series profiling Canadian Paralympic athletes entitled, "Milestones of Champions".

"Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) is honoured to be a part of the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Broadcast Consortium and working closely with the Canadian Paralympic Committee," said John Melville, AMI Vice President, Programming and Production. "This is an initiative that is near and dear to our hearts. We are very in tune with our blind and low vision audience and we received tremendous feedback following the Vancouver and London Games. Our audience appreciated the coverage we provided but were eager for more. We will work with our broadcast and media partners to enhance the visibility around the Paralympic Games and play a key role in provide accessible coverage across the Consortium."

The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games will take place from March 7 to 16, 2014. With a goal of placing in the top three nations in the gold medal count, Canada will send 50 athletes to compete in sledge hockey, wheelchair curling, para-Nordic skiing, biathlon, para-alpine skiing and para-snowboard.

The Paralympic Broadcast Consortium is made up of five broadcast partners: Yahoo Sports, CBC Sports, Radio-Canada Sports, Sportsnet and AMI. In addition, SendtoNews will distribute full news access highlights to Canadian media for both broadcast and digital usage.

The Canadian Paralympic Broadcast Consortium has been made possible thanks to a substantial investment in the Sochi broadcast by four of the Canadian Paralympic Committee's Premier Partners: Petro-Canada, Canadian Tire, Air Canada and CIBC.

"The Canadian Paralympic Broadcast Consortium started with a dream, a vision and clear objectives to increase the opportunities to share our athletes' stories and achievements with Canadians," said Martin Richard, Executive Director of Communications and Marketing for the Canadian Paralympic Committee. "The Canadian Paralympic Committee took the initiative to reach out to corporate and broadcast partners with this opportunity and together all involved have created the Paralympic Broadcast Consortium."

Gaétan Tardif, President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, added: "We are grateful to our corporate partners for making this possible and we anticipate that Canadians will enthusiastically embrace this unparalleled opportunity to follow their team on television and online."

About AMI (Accessible Media Inc.)
Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) is a not-for-profit multimedia organization serving more than five million Canadians who are blind, partially sighted, deaf, hard of hearing, mobility or print restricted.  Operating two broadcast services: AMI-audio and AMI-tv, and a website (AMI.ca), AMI's mission is to make accessible media for all Canadians.

About the Canadian Paralympic Committee
The Canadian Paralympic Committee is a non-profit, private organization with 25 member sports organizations dedicated to strengthening the Paralympic Movement. The Canadian Paralympic Committee's vision is to be the world's leading Paralympic nation. Its mission is to lead the development of a sustainable Paralympic sport system in Canada to enable athletes to reach the podium at the Paralympic Games. By supporting Canadian high performance athletes with a disability and promoting their success, the Canadian Paralympic Committee inspires all Canadians with a disability to get involved in sport through programs delivered by its member organizations. For more information, visit www.paralympic.ca

SOURCE: Accessible Media Inc. (AMI)

Janis Davidson Pressick
Communications Manager
Accessible Media Inc. (AMI)
Phone: [phone]
Cell: 416-951-4082
[email protected]

Alison Korn
Manager, Media Relations and Communications
Canadian Paralympic Committee
Phone: [phone] ext. 243
Cell: 613-298-4927
[email protected]

Martin Richard
Executive Director, Communications and Marketing
Canadian Paralympic Committee
Tel: [phone] ext. 224
Cell: 613-725-4339
[email protected]

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