Harder Than You Think and Off The Fence join forces on "Rising Phoenix Universe" project

Production company Harder Than You Think (HTYT) appoints Off The Fence (OTF) to find partners for the next four projects from Harder Than You Think’s "Rising Phoenix Universe" - a catalogue of trailblazing content which charts the story of the Paralympic Games. OTF will also co-produce additional content commissioned outside of these core projects.

The "Rising Phoenix Universe" was born out of the success of Harder Than You Think’s debut film "Rising Phoenix", a four-time nominated and double Emmy winning feature documentary about the history of the Paralympic Movement which debuted in 2020 on Netflix and Bytedance.

Now, Harder Than You Think, founded by London 2012 CMO Greg Nugent and chaired by ex-BBC director general Tony Hall, is set to produce a collection of documentaries and docu series as part of the Rising Phoenix Universe which aims to connect global audiences to the Paralympics and in so doing create a shift in attitudes towards disability. Under the deal announced, OTF will oversee the distribution strategy for all Rising Phoenix productions: "Road To Tokyo" (2022) and "Paris 2024: A New Revolution" w/t (2024). As part of the deal, OTF will act for Harder Than You Think on selling the rights to the "2025-2028 Road To LA" which will chart the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games and LA 2028 Paralympic Games.

Television audiences for the Paralympic Games are growing rapidly with its cumulative audience more than doubling in the last decade. The IPC projects a cumulative five billion-strong global audience for the LA 2028 Paralympic Games. According to the United Nations, more than 1 billion people, or around 15% of the world’s population, have a disability. However, they represent only a very small fraction of those working in the entertainment industry today. Harder Than You Think’s mission is to change this and increase diverse representation for people with disabilities in front of and behind the camera. The team has set a groundbreaking target for representation of disabled talent with a goal to have at least 50% of the production team identifying as disabled on all future productions.

Andrew Parsons, President of the IPC, said: “We want to open up the Paralympics to the world’s greatest storytellers to help bring the world’s greatest sporting and social stories to every corner of the globe.”

Bo Stehmeier, CEO of Off The Fence, said: “The IPC chose wisely when it granted Harder Than You Think unprecedented access to the Paralympics — and not just because Greg and his team produce glorious, award-winning work, but also because their commercial instincts are as sound as their creative talent. We’re honoured to have been entrusted with maximising the reach and impact of the 'Rising Phoenix'. The power, glory and heroism of the Paralympics deserve to be seen by the widest possible global audience — and we’re only too pleased to help make that happen.”

Greg Nugent, Creator Of Rising Phoenix said: “We have something very special and unique in 'Rising Phoenix' and its storyline. Our desire is to find a partner who shares our passion not only for extraordinary content but also more inclusive and representative production standards that can hopefully inspire others in the industry."