The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has announced a strategic partnership with AI translation firm Camb.ai to provide real-time, contextual subtitling for its coverage of the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. This move is a major step toward making the event, which runs from March 6 to March 15, more accessible to a pan-European audience.
Scaling Digital Accessibility
The collaboration ensures that live and on-demand coverage of all six winter Para sports—including Para alpine skiing, ice hockey, and wheelchair curling—will be available with real-time, multi-language speech-to-text transcription on the Eurovision Sport streaming platform.
Alan Fagan, Managing Director of Eurovision Sport, emphasized the importance of the initiative:
“The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games should be accessible to the widest possible audience. By delivering real-time subtitling across every event on Eurovision Sport, we are scaling digital accessibility and ensuring more people can follow the action live.”
A Track Record of AI Innovation
This partnership builds on a collaboration that began in 2024, when the EBU and Camb.ai successfully delivered Europe’s first AI-powered, real-time translated sports commentary during European Athletics events.
A Historic Broadcast Reach
The 2026 Winter Paralympics are on track to become the most widely aired edition in history:
- Global Reach: Rights holders will broadcast the games in a record 126 countries.
- EBU Commitment: EBU members in 23 countries, including France, Germany, Spain, and Türkiye, have committed to live coverage, complementing the comprehensive digital offering on Eurovision Sport.
- Event Scope: Featuring up to 665 athletes from around 50 nations, the coverage encompasses all disciplines to ensure fans don’t miss a moment of the competition.
By leveraging AI, the EBU is not only complementing linear broadcasts but also fulfilling its goal of providing the most comprehensive digital coverage of the Paralympic Winter Games to date.