Channel 4 and NatWest gear up for Paralympic Winter Games
This deal complements NatWest’s long-term partnership with Team GB and ParalympicsGB that was unveiled last year.
Nicola Kemp
Editorial Director CreativebriefNatWest is sponsoring live and on-demand coverage of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.
The sponsorship deal, which extends to 50 hours of coverage, will see Royal Bank of Scotland idents running in Scotland.
The sponsorship will begin with the Opening Ceremony on the 6th March 2026 and continue through to the Closing Ceremony on 15th March.
Our partnership with ParalympicsGB is rooted in a shared ambition to show what can be achieved when people are given the opportunity and support to take action.
Margaret Jobling, Group Chief Marketing Officer at NatWest
The idents will be present on coverage from morning and afternoon sessions to daily highlights. As well as additional accreditation on bespoke Channel 4 social media content, including tailored clips, event highlights, and pivotal medal moments.
The sponsorship, featuring ParalympicsGB Para Nordic skier Scott Meenagh and former ParalympicsGB Para alpine skier Jade Etherington, offers a glimpse into the realities of training for their sports.
The dynamic clips are designed to capture the anticipation, perseverance, and the realities of training required, as well as build a buzz in anticipation of the games.
The deal was brokered by media agency, Initiative, with the idents produced by creative agency, Pitch Marketing Group.
A step up for inclusive coverage
Produced by Whisper, Channel 4’s Paralympic coverage will showcase up to 665 elite athletes from 50 nations, competing for 79 medals across six sports. These sports will include Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country skiing, Para ice hockey, Para snowboarding and wheelchair curling.
All content will be subtitled, live broadcast coverage will have live audio description available from 10:30am each day. The daily highlights programme will feature live British Sign Language (BSL) translation.
The Opening and Closing Ceremonies will feature 100% closed caption subtitling in every ad break for the first time. This represents a significant milestone in Channel 4’s ongoing accessibility journey as it follows Channel 4 Sales’ recent announcement that it requires all ads delivered to Channel 4 to have closed captions from March 2026.
Margaret Jobling, Group Chief Marketing Officer at NatWest, explained: “Our partnership with ParalympicsGB is rooted in a shared ambition to show what can be achieved when people are given the opportunity and support to take action and Channel 4’s Paralympic Games coverage has long championed this same belief.”
She continued: “Supporting the Paralympic Winter Games allows us to play a meaningful role in celebrating Paralympic athletes and broadening understanding of inclusion, while building on our commitment to put accessibility at the heart of our business to create opportunities that help more people progress.”
Rak Patel, Chief Commercial Officer at Channel 4, added: “Today officially marks one month until the Paralympic Winter Games and this partnership places NatWest at the heart of its coverage. We are excited to partner with them and support their ambitions to turn intention into action. It is the eighth Games covered by Channel 4 and moving to 100% closed caption subtitling of the Opening and Closing Ceremony ad breaks reaffirms our commitment to continually improving accessibility. We hope that alongside elevating amazing Paralympic sport, we are demonstrating the power of inclusive broadcasting and highlighting how together we can drive progress for audiences everywhere.”
This deal complements NatWest’s long-term partnership with Team GB and ParalympicsGB, which was unveiled last year. It comes amidst a growing realisation of the commercial opportunities of partnering with the Paralympic Games.