Race promoter Powerboat P1 has extended its relationship with FOX Sports Regional Networks to air races from past, present and future in the USA, according to P1 CEO Azam Rangoonwala. This move extends P1’s seven-year relationship with FOX to air powerboat races in the USA.

Ever since sports ground to a halt globally in March of this year, top leagues, governing bodies and event promoters have struggled to find ways of getting their respective shows back on the road safely while managing the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Powerboat racing is no different, as it prepares to return in some form in the coming weeks.

Like all sports promoters, Powerboat P1 has been addressing both immediate issues and engaging in longer-term planning. Event postponements and cancellations have had to be made in the APBA Offshore Championship, but the two races that remain on the 2020 schedule—at least, for the time being—are Cocoa Beach (Aug. 27) and Fort Myers Beach (Oct. 10). A decision on the Cocoa Beach event will be taken on 28 June.
Meanwhile, P1 has been focusing on ensuring a successful and widely visible 2021 season.

“The coverage that FOX Sports Florida has given to the locals races has been great,” Rangoonwala says. “We’ve been working on pushing them to expand thier coverage to the other regions, such as Michigan City, IN, and St. Clair, MI, and other venues. Our goal is to do six live-streamed TV shows for next year. This has always been our plan. They’ve given us some great times, and they’ll continue to do so,” he says. “The idea is for all 23 networks to give us some sort of coverage, with some states obviously giving us more than others. They would like to make the FOX Sport regional networks the national home of P1 Racing. The reach will be around 80 million homes.”

Additionally, nearly two dozen regional sports networks across the United States will screen four one-hour shows beginning tomorrow (June 19), to feature race action from the three 2019 APBA Offshore Championship events staged in Florida together with a season review program. The shows will be seen on channels such as Fox Sports Florida, Fox Sports South and Fox Sports West (the full list with broadcast times can be viewed below). Coverage will extend into next year, with plans underway for this collection of regional sports networks to cover the APBA Offshore series—plus a Class 1 season round-up—with additional livestreaming on P1 Offshore’s Facebook page.