South Korea's two largest streaming platforms — SOOP and Naver's Chzzk — have secured live streaming rights for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics, stepping in after JTBC, the original exclusive rights holder, abandoned its Paralympic coverage due to poor viewership during the Winter Olympics.
Platforms
SOOP & Naver Chzzk
Event Dates
March 7–16, 2026
Location
Milan & Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
Access
Free — mobile & PC
South Korea Roster
56 athletes across 5 events: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, wheelchair curling
JTBC held exclusive rights to the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics but opted out of its Paralympic broadcasting rights, citing poor viewership ratings during the Games. Rather than leave the event without a digital home, SOOP and Chzzk moved swiftly to acquire the rights — continuing a trend where interactive streaming platforms fill gaps left by traditional broadcasters.
For SOOP, this is the second consecutive Paralympic broadcast following its coverage of the 2024 Paris Summer Paralympics. Chzzk, meanwhile, becomes one of the first major internet platforms globally to hold both Olympic and Paralympic streaming rights simultaneously.
The Winter Olympics underscored just how powerful streaming has become in sports viewership. Chzzk's daily active users hit an all-time high on February 15 during the Korea-Japan curling match, and peak concurrent viewers broke records during the women's 1000m short track final. Olympic-related clips across Naver accumulated approximately 300 million plays, demonstrating the platform's capacity for massive sports audiences.
The esports connection is deepening the sports strategy further. Chzzk and SOOP hold five-year LCK (League of Legends Champions Korea) broadcasting contracts valued at 100 billion won and 50 billion won respectively — figures on par with major traditional sports league deals. During the LCK season through March 1, Chzzk's peak concurrent viewers surged 62% year-over-year to 420,000.
SOOP's broadcast model goes beyond traditional coverage. Viewers can watch games both through the official Paralympic broadcast channel and through individual streamer broadcasts on the platform — complete with real-time chat reactions and a community cheering atmosphere unique to live streaming culture.
The Paralympics will be free to watch on both SOOP and Chzzk across mobile and PC, making coverage more accessible than ever. The full live broadcast schedule and event details are available on SOOP's official Korean Sports Association for the Disabled broadcasting page.
"The process of securing these Paralympic rights clearly illustrates the seismic shift in the media market," an industry official told Seoul Economic Daily. "While traditional broadcasters hesitate over profitability concerns, internet broadcasting platforms leveraging interactive communication and fandom culture are becoming the key hubs for expanding both sports and esports audiences."