OTTAWA – The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) announced this week MXZN, a Canadian company focused on delivering high quality video content, to the Canadian Paralympic Media Consortium as an official partner.
The Canadian Paralympic Media Consortium is the official broadcaster of the Paralympic Games in Canada and MXZN joins a family of partners, including broadcasters CBC, Radio-Canada, AMI and Sportsnet, and digital partners Twitter and Facebook, who together bring coverage of the country’s Paralympians back to Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
MXZN, a riff off the “mixed zone” area which athletes pass through after their events, provides a station where those athletes can talk about their performance and see the video distributed to broadcasters and others around the world. Pictured is the MXZN technology in use during January’s Prada Cup regatta in New Zealand, borrowed from the MXZN web site.
“The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will be like no other Games in history,” said Martin Richard, executive director, communications and brand, Canadian Paralympic Committee, in a release. “We have had to adapt significantly in order to keep our athletes safe and healthy at the Games, while still working towards providing world-class coverage and shining a spotlight on the team.
“Even though we are not able to have as much of an onsite media presence in Tokyo, MXZN will allow us to still hear directly from Canada’s remarkable Paralympians and share their performances and personal stories with audiences across the nation through a variety of channels.”
With access to athletes limited and a smaller media presence in Tokyo, MXZN stations will be placed in multiple venues to act as remote digital content capture hubs, explains the release. “The easy-to-use technology features an interactive touchscreen, high quality camera, external microphone, lighting, and an adjustable height, with athletes able to speak directly into the camera after their competition. The resulting video can then easily be shared on a variety of social media platforms or with broadcast and media outlets across the country.”
“Giving all athletes a voice is really what the Mixed Zone Stations are all about,” said Keith Wells, CEO of MXZN. “If reporters or cameras aren’t available, it’s still possible to deliver live or recorded video comments directly to media from anywhere in the world.”
Wells originally developed the idea for MXZN back at the London 2012 Paralympic Games after seeing multiple athletes go through an empty mixed zone interview area, explains the release.
The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will take place August 24 to September 5, 2021 in Japan.
