NEW SUPERCARS TV DEAL IS ‘CLOSE’
New Supercars TV deal is close
A new Supercars broadcast deal is close to being secured, with the Seven Network taking over as the free-to-air provider.
By MARK FOGARTY
Fox Sports is set for a multi-year renewal from 2021, on-selling FTA rights to Seven.
The switch from Network 10 to Seven will result in more free coverage on its digital channels.
Annualised, the new broadcast rights deal will be less than the existing five-year $241 million agreement that finishes at the end of this season.
It is also crucial to the planned sale of Supercars, determining how much the category is worth and how much cash-strapped teams would receive.
Multiple informed sources have confirmed to Auto Action that an extended broadcast rights agreement with Fox Sports and Seven is imminent.
“The TV deal is close,” an informed source confirmed.
The only delay in the finalisation might be the latest uncertainty about this season caused by the coronavirus spike in Melbourne, which closed Victoria to the rest of the nation.
Otherwise, Supercars supremo Sean Seamer is on course to seal a renewed deal with Fox Sports that switches FTA coverage to Seven.
AA understands the broadcast rights agreement will be for more than two years, but fewer than the five years of the existing arrangement – done by then Supercars boss James Warburton, now head of the Seven Network.
Seven will show more events live than Ten does now across its FTA channels and 7Plus streaming platform.
As well as marquee events like the Bathurst 1000 and Adelaide 500, ‘The Screens Of Seven’ are likely to cover at least one race of each regular round as well as delayed highlights.
Seven is set to return as the ‘home of motor sport’ on FTA TV, with Supercars joining its multi-platform coverage of ARG’s TCR and S5000.
It will also retain shared coverage of the Supercars-run Bathurst 12 Hour, which is still in doubt for next year because of international travel restrictions, but will return in ’22.
“We need a new TV deal where we’re on a free-to-air network that gives a shit, which is pretty close to happening,” an embittered team boss said.
Of the current talks, another commented: “It’s not a bad TV deal.”
It is now widely known that Supercars had a firm Fox Sports/Seven deal on the table last November.
It was rejected because it was thought a better agreement could be done – and one that didn’t upset Foxtel owner News Corp by involving rival media group Seven West, which owns the top-rating FTA network.
According to informed sources, that decision means Supercars will receive “significantly less” annually for the new deal than the existing agreement, worth around $40 million per year.
Supercars owner Archer Capital is waiting on the new TV deal to activate its long-planned sale of the business, giving it tangible value.
However, even then, informed observers reckon a Supercars sell-off will still only reap $30 million-$35 million – way less than the $134 million Archer paid in 2012.
There is also the complication of Supercars teams’ 35 per cent shareholding and the associated ‘tag along’ rights.
There is also the danger that financially stressed team owners would take their split of the proceeds – at least $500,000 per REC – and depart, crippling the category
The main contenders to buy Supercars are a consortium of wealthy team owners, and ARG in combination with a leading team owner or owners.
The future viability of Supercars also depends on Gen3, due for introduction in 2022, achieving significant cost savings
However, according to an insider, in the event of a sale, “Teams will have to give up equity to get money to fund the Gen3 changeover”.
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