Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Public service broadcaster Channel 4 has for the rights to televise the London 2012 paralympics.

Until now, viewers have been used to seeing coverage of disability sport only on the licence fee funded Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, so to see them move to a commercial broadcaster is very interesting.

Disability programmes and sport haven't previously been seen as great money-spinners by businesses - the people who, crucially, may or may not buy advertising in the breaks. But Channel 4 and the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ both appear to have been raising their game around disability in recent years with disabled people regularly included on Big Brother and seemingly more and more specials from auntie such as Britain's Missing Top Model and the soon to be broadcast Dancing on Wheels.

Campaigners often go blue in the face reminding their audiences, "Disabled people have an annual spend of 80 billion pounds and so should be taken seriously". Could Channel 4's purchase of the games be an acknowledgment of disabled people, their friends and family, as a sizeable economic force? Or are they betting that the halo of love around the London-based olympic and paralympic games will pay worthwhile dividends and get viewers glued to their sets.

Anyone hooked on the nightly coverage from the Beijing games in 2008 like I was, is going to relish seeing so much live sport from disabled competetors. Somehow, disability sport has more to offer than mainstream sport with its back stories and a higher than average element of jeopardy from mixed ability male and female athletes. It's like WWE on acid and with no play acting.

Channel 4 has pledged that it will give itself over to the games after the summer olympics is over. It also plans to broadcast documentaries in 2011 and 2012, with other disability sport events, to help build towards the games. Being as some of the rules and categories are quite complex, lots of explanation is likely to be necessary up front. e.g. if a swimmer appears to beat the rest of their field and reach the end of the pool first, they're not necessarily the winner. Disability is so confusing.

• The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ has an excellent an regularly updated disability sports site that we urge you to add to your favourites right now: