The BBC are currently planning to broadcast only a one-hour highlights programme on Monday, March 22 on BBC2.

The BBC's coverage of the Beijing Paralympics in 2008 attracted a record number of viewers for the event.

The BBC claimed the last 15 minutes of the television coverage in 2008 was watched by 13.2 million, 23 per cent of the population in Britain.

This compares with 10.8 million for the Paralympics in Athens and 12.9 million for the Sydney Games.

But Vancouver is the last Paralympics that BBC are due to screen for at least four years having controversially lost out on the opportunity to broadcast London 2012 after officials chose Channel 4.

And they planning minimal coverage.

Lewis Wiltshire, the editor of the BBC Sport website, said: "There are provisional plans in place to stream the curling live through the BBC Sport website and BBC Red Button if the GB team make the medal rounds and we will also be broadcasting a one-hour highlights programme on Monday, 22 March on BBC2.

"We will not be broadcasting any other live coverage due to budget restrictions and the time zone factor."

In the United States, NBC Sports and Universal Sports have announced multiplatform broadcast coverage of the Games, which will be sponsored by General Electric.

Coverage on NBC Sports will include a one-hour programme tomorrow recapping tonight's Opening Ceremony and a two-hour highlights programme on Saturday, April 10.

In addition to the coverage on NBC Sports, Universal Sports will broadcast a nightly two-hour show for nine days, starting on Monday, March 15 and continuing nightly through until Tuesday, March 23.

Additionally, UniversalSports.com will offer on-demand re-airs of the Universal Sports television coverage, plus full-length event "rewinds."

The official site of the US. Paralympic Team will also offer daily video and news highlights of the competition from Vancouver.

Gary Zenkel, the President of NBC Olympics said: "The extensive coverage on NBC Sports and Universal Sports helps to raise the awareness of the Paralympics by telling the stories of these remarkable athletes, and demonstrates NBC Universal's commitment to the Olympic movement in the United States."

But, even in Canada, the amount of air-time to be devoted to the Games will be dramatically less than that given to the Olympics with the Opening Ceremony not being broadcast live nationwide but instead as part of a highlights package tomorrow.

It will be broadcast live only in British Columbia and that decision was only taken today following local protests.

Viewers outside British Columba. will see the 6 o’clock news, eTalk, Access Hollywood, and Ghost Whisperer instead of the Opening Ceremony.

The Canadian consortium led by CTV, broadcast more than 2,200 hours of coverage during the Olympics, but for the Paralympics it plans to devote only 57 hours: 30 in French and 27 in English.

Terry Wright, the executive vice-president of Games operations for Vancouver 2010, defended the relatively minimal amount of coverage.

He said: "It is better than what they’ve had in the past.

"There wasn’t anything for the last two [Paralympics], I think, in this country."

International channels showing the Opening Ceremony live are ZDF from Germany, SBS from South Korea, TVE from Spain, France 2 from France and Sky New Zealand.

The best opportunity for people to watch the Paralympics is on the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) website, where it plans to broadcast 150 hours of live and tape-delayed events, twice as much as did for the last Winter Games in Turin four years ago.

To find out more details about the IPC's coverage click here.


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