MORE SUPERCARS TV DETAILS REVEALED
More Supercars TV details revealed – Images: InSyde Media
Pit lane reporter Andrew Jones is the latest victim of Supercars’ TV commentary cull.
By MARK FOGARTY
Ahead of this week’s confirmation of the commentary team, AUTO ACTION has learned that ex-Supercars racer Jones has been axed.
As more details of the broadcast line-up emerge, the dispute over Foxtel sports streaming service Kayo Sports’ proposed free coverage has also escalated.
Jones has been dropped despite stepping up in the pit lane last season when pressed into service on the main broadcast amid the coronavirus crisis.
He was informed and incisive, providing insight that complemented Mark Larkham’s in-depth analysis.
Jones joins fellow pit lane reporter Riana Crehan as a casualty of the tweaked talent line-up for the first season of the new five-year $200 million broadcast rights deal with Fox Sports and Seven.
Kiwi legend Greg Murphy, sidelined last year by travel restrictions, is also officially out of the pit lane reporting roster on a regular basis.
But if free travel between NZ and Australia is restored, Murph is expected to return for the Bathurst 1000, as well as the NZ round in early November if it goes ahead.
Under the new TV deal, races will be entirely simulcast on Fox Sports and free-to-air partner Seven, which is returning once again after six years FTA coverage on Channel 10.
Seven Network is regarded as the historical TV home of Australian touring car racing, having popularised the sport from the 1970s to the mid-’90s.
The simulcast coverage, produced by Supercars Media, will also share presenters, commentators and reporters, who will be seen on both the Fox Sports and Seven telecasts.
Supercars is scheduled to reveal the revised commentary team on Wednesday (February 10), along with enhancements to the broadcasts.
AA has learned that the core of the broadcast presentation will be the familiar team of Neil Crompton, Mark Skaife and Craig Lowndes, plus host Jessica Yates.
Yates will be absent from the early rounds as she will be on maternity leave, with the stand-in anchor yet to be finalised.
Lowndes will return to his role as desk analyst, rotating with fellow Triple Eight Bathurst co-driver Garth Tander, who as exclusively revealed by AA is joining the commentary team.
Reinstated fan favourite Mark Larkham will be the main person in the pit lane, doing much the same as he has always done.
Supercars supremo Sean Seamer’s assertion that Larko will have a higher-profile presence has been questioned by insiders.
AA understands he will do more for Supercars’ digital platforms, but on the broadcasts, he will continue to entertainingly analyse from the Hino Hub, backed by enhanced graphics and data.
In the pit lane, it is understood rising star commentator Chad Neylon will be the main in-race reporter, in addition to continuing as the primary support race commentator.
Former children’s TV presenter Charli Robinson and former Australian rally champion Molly Taylor are vying for pit lane/colour reporting positions.
‘Sunrise’ sports presenter Mark Beretta is expected to feature at the six events Seven is covering live.
There has been a lot of argument over the faces to appear on the combined coverage because there is no love lost between Seven and Fox Sports, despite them also sharing AFL and cricket TV rights.
Seven, headed by former Supercars boss James Warburton, is a very minor partner financially in the V8 racing deal.
But Seven has a say in the broadcasts’ presentation because it delivers a much bigger audience than Fox Sports, whose extensive coverage fans have to pay for.
Apart from Yates, Crompton and Skaife, the talk team will rotate over the course of the season.
AA understands all ‘talent’ are on one-year contracts to be reviewed at the end of the season.
There is a demand for an increased female reporting presence, with Robinson backed by Seamer and Taylor championed by Warburton.
According to our sources, Robinson will feature at most events, with Taylor joining for Seven’s live telecasts when her Xtreme electric racing commitments with Nico Rosberg’s team allow.
The debate and uproar over Supercars’ plan to ‘dumb down’ the commentary, since revoked, means the series’ world-class broadcasts will be largely unaffected.
Familiar faces and voices, and in-depth technical analysis, will continue, enhanced by more on-screen data.
The unprecedented outrage over Larko’s sacking, prompting his reinstatement, moderated the changes to the TV coverage Supercars executives wanted to make.
“Sometimes a little revolution is a good thing,” an insider said. “There’s now much better communication with the commentators.”
Meanwhile, the plan for Foxtel’s subscription sports streaming service Kayo to show the season-opening Mount Panorama 500 at the end of the month for free has opened a major division.
Seven is furious at a rival to its FTA coverage and there have been tense talks since the announcement that the Supercars opener would be among the ‘Kayo Freebies’ offered to viewers.
The latest word is that the Mount Panorama 500 – or any other Supercars events – will not be shown free on Kayo.
Supercars has deliberately steered clear of commenting as the dispute between Seven and Fox Sports over live streaming escalates.
AA understands the Kayo controversy will not be addressed in the mid-week reveal of Supercars’ broadcast plans as discussions continue.
The Kayo announcement triggered a major argument with Seven, which argues it has exclusive free rights.
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