The closing ceremonies for the Paralympic Winter Games will be broadcast live across Canada in both English and French.
Originally, the ceremony wasn't on CTV's broadcast schedule for the Games.
The network reversed that decision after being happy with their numbers from the opening ceremonies broadcast.
``Canadians have demonstrated incredible passion and support for our Paralympians as they set new standards for performance and inspiration. This final celebration brings to a close the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, an unforgettable adventure that has captivated our entire nation,'' Susanne Boyce, president of creative, content and channels for CTV Inc., said in a statement announcing the decision.
The network had come under criticism for refusing to air last Friday's opening ceremonies live and changed their mind on that at the last minute.
Residents of B.C. were able to see the two-hour show as it happened while the rest of Canada had to wait for the rebroadcast on Saturday.
The compromise mollified International Paralympic Committee officials who had called the earlier tape-delay-only broadcast a ``slap in the face.''
According to the network, the combined audience for the live and tape-delayed opening ceremonies broadcast was 1.4 million viewers, while the Canada vs Italy sledge hockey game aired after Saturday's broadcast had an average audience of 1.14 million viewers.
CTV was already broadcasting more of the Paralympics than had ever been aired in Canada, including live coverage of men's sledge hockey.
With the choice to show the closing ceremonies, they'll now be airing 60 hours of Paralympic coverage, mostly in the form of daily highlight packages.
The ceremonies take place in Whistler, B.C.
Ticket sales for the Paralympics have been stronger than the organizing committee originally anticipated.
In early planning documents, they suggested that overall, they would sell about 75 per cent of the 250,000 available seats.
The opening and closing ceremonies, every Team Canada sledge hockey game, the gold medal sledge hockey game and the wheelchair curling games have since sold out.
``CTV's commitment to live and extensive coverage has been exceptional, not only for the Olympic Games but for the Paralympic Games as well,'' said John Furlong, the CEO of the Vancouver organizing committee in a statement.
