Sport TV to show live coverage of Portuguese GP

Tuesday 23 September 2008

Greenlight's TV crew are responsible for preparing Powerboat P1's highlights package

Race action from this weekend’s season-closing Portuguese Grand Prix of the Sea will be broadcast live from the Marina Portimao on subscription channel Sport TV (www.sporttv.pt). This is the first time that direct-to-air coverage of a Powerboat P1 event has been carried on a television network.

Sport TV is one of Portugal’s prime subscription TV networks, carrying coverage of major national and international football fixtures, rugby, tennis and Formula 1, as well as more specialised, alternative sports such as mountaineering and cycling.

This weekend’s final races of the Evolution and SuperSport championships will be broadcast on Sport TV3 on Sunday, starting with the SuperSport class race at 11:00, and followed by the Evolution class finale at 16:10 in the afternoon. The Evolution class title is still likely to be undecided by the time the final race gets underway, meaning that Sport TV viewers will get to see this year’s champion crowned, live.

Powerboat P1 Commercial Director Robert Wicks said that adding live TV coverage of the Portuguese Grand Prix of the Sea was a “significant step forward, not only for Powerboat P1, but for the sport of offshore powerboating as a whole”.

“It brings a completely new dimension to what we have previously been able to offer broadcasters and sponsors,” he added. “Moving from a post-produced environment to a full live show will undoubtedly bring new challenges, but the dramatic spectacle that is Powerboat P1 racing is ideally suited to live television coverage and we look forward to putting on a world-class show.”

The coverage – as with Powerboat P1’s post-produced race highlights packages – will be produced by Greenlight Television. “We are delighted to be taking Powerboat P1 live for the first time,” said director Rob Hurdman. “We hope it is the first of many opportunities to showcase this exciting sport.”

The move to a live television broadcast in Portugal follows successful ‘at-event’ broadcasts on the big screen in the heart of the dry pits and on televisions in the VIP hospitality areas in Marseille, France and Vigo, Spain earlier this year.