Will the Paralympics Opening Ceremonies garner the same fanfare as the Olympics?

…Probably not. The Paralympics Opening ceremony is tonight, August 29 and games will run through September 9. With more than 100 countries broadcasting events, The 2012 Games is providing the most comprehensive Paralympics coverage in history. However, only 5.5 hours will be shown by NBC here in the states (none of it live).

London’s Channel 4 is bearing the torch for Paralympics programming by dropping most of its schedule, leaving just its evening news and half-hour evening soap opera. The rest will offer 400 hours of estimated broadcasting of the Paralympics, marking the first time the contract has been split for the two linked Games.
Of the 5.5 hours of NBC coverage there will be four, hour-long programs on September 4, 5, 6 and 11 highlighting different events in addition to a recap show on September 16 from 2 PM to 3.30 PM ET.   NBC did have considerable coverage of the Olympics, during the two week span of the games.  The opening ceremony telecast — which aired on tape from 8 PM to just past midnight — delivered 40.7 million total viewers, up 17% compared to the Beijing Olympics kick off four years ago. The previous record was set at the 1996 Atlanta Games, which drew 39.8 million.
All in all I enjoyed every Prime Time minute of the Olympics and I hope to do the same with Paralympics- online of course where I can watch each event in its entirety. You can do the same, for the full schedule list of events visit http://www.london2012.com/paralympics/schedule-and-results/ or watch the games live via http://paralympics.channel4.com/
Source: Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)