In a move that will net the Paralympic Games unprecedented TV coverage in the US, NBC and the NBC Sports Network will air more than 100 combined hours of the 2014 and 2016 Paralympics across those two networks.

NBC Olympics and the US Olympic Committee acquired the rights to the 2014 Sochi Games as well as the 2016 Games in Rio, the International Paralympic Committee announced today. As part of the deal, NBC and NBCSN will air 50 hours of coverage from Sochi, starting with the Opening Ceremony on March 7. For the 2016 Paralympics, the networks will air 66 hours of coverage as well as provide live streaming of the Games on TeamUSA.com. That’s a huge increase from the 2012 London Paralympics, which NBC aired only five-and-a-half hours of in retrospective coverage.

“We are thrilled with NBC Olympics’ commitment to growing the Paralympic Movement in the United States,” said USOC CEO Scott Blackmun in a statement. “We are proud to have a partner that understand the importance of the Paralympic Movement and is committed to growing its impact.”

Sponsorship of next year’s Winter Games was made available exclusively to USOC sponsors for the first time. Broadcast and streaming sponsors include heavy hitters like BMW, BP, Liberty Mutual and Proctor & Gamble.

“We are delighted to partner with NBC and the US Olympic Committee on this groundbreaking broadcast event,” said Citi’s global chief brand officer Dermot Boden, in a statement.

Most of the Sochi Games will be broadcast on NBCSN, with 46.5 hours of competition airing on that platform. NBC will air 3.5 hours of additional coverage. The winter Paralympic competition slate includes alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, sled hockey, wheelchair curling and snowboard cross. The USOC will also provide live coverage of all the events online at TeamUSA.org. It wasn’t immediately clear how many hours of the television broadcast would be live or same-day.

The Sochi Games will feature nearly 700 athletes from 45 countries. The US is expected to send a team of 77 athletes. The US sent 50 athletes to the last Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, winning four gold medals and finishing fifth overall in the medal count.

While the Sochi Games will provide far more coverage than past winter Games, the 2016 Games are expected to be the biggest Paralympics ever, with more than 4,300 athletes competing in 22 sports.

Brief Take: In a testament to the growing popularity of the Paralympic Games, NBC and major sponsors are getting behind the 2014 and 2016 Games, giving the event unprecedented coverage.

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