SEVEN IMPROVES SUPERCARS COVERAGE

Free TV Supercars broadcaster Seven Network will show highlights of this weekend’s The Bend SuperSprint in an earlier timeslot.

Following criticism of Seven’s post-midnight coverage of the Sandown and Symmons Plains rounds, the one-hour highlights have been brought forward to 8.30-9.30 pm AEST on Saturday and Sunday.

But there’s a catch.

The earlier screenings will only be on 7plus, the network’s free streaming service.

This happens amid suspicions that Seven is actively trying to undermine Fox Sports’ pay TV coverage by underlining the absence of free TV coverage.

‘Big 7’ won’t air The Bend SuperSprint highlights package until very late Saturday night and very early Monday morning.

They’ll be shown on Seven’s flagship FTA TV station – channel 70 in HD – from 11 pm to midnight AEST on Saturday and midnight to 1 am on Monday.

Channel 7’s ‘same day’ delayed highlights have enraged fans who don’t have Foxtel, returning to the dark days of Seven’s late night ATCC shows in the mid-1990s.

That abandonment partly triggered the revolution that created V8 Supercars – and a move to Channel 10 – in 1997.

Seven regained the Supercars FTA TV rights this year, returning with a bang with live telecasts of the season-opening Mount Panorama 500 on ‘Big 7’.

Network bosses proclaimed Supercars had “returned home”, promising more and better free coverage than seen on 10 from 2015-20.

But so far, it has been a disappointment for fans relying on free TV to watch highlights of the rounds not covered live by Seven.

Its deal is for six events, the next of which is the June 19-20 Darwin Triple Crown.

The others are the Townsville 500, Sydney SuperNight, Bathurst 1000 and season-ending Gold Coast 500.

As well as The Bend this weekend, Winton at the end of this month, the Perth SuperNight in September and NZ’s Pukekohe in November get delayed highlights.

While not expected to be on ‘Big 7’ because of the network’s AFL commitments, fans are puzzled as to why the highlights are not screened late afternoon on 7mate or even 7two.

There are live telecasts of Australian Racing Group events on 7mate, plus extended coverage on 7plus.

The change to earlier showings of Supercars highlights on 7plus from this weekend will be welcomed by tech-savvy fans, who can watch on multiple devices.

But for core traditional followers who resist paying for Foxtel, the late-night highlights on 7 are frustrating.

They rightly point out that in the previous broadcast deal, Channel 10 – which also telecast six major rounds live – usually aired the one-hour shows before the national news bulletins on Saturdays and Sundays.

According to Seven sources, the time lag this year is because Supercars Media – which produces the broadcasts – can’t turn the highlights packages around quickly enough.

Supercars TV insiders reject that, pointing to Seven “playing games” with the coverage.

They claim Seven, headed by former Supercars boss James Warburton, is deliberately burying the highlights shows to emphasise the popularity of the FTA network’s live telecasts.

Not surprisingly, Seven’s Mount Panorama 500 audience crushed Fox Sports’ viewership.

Despite its decline, FTA TV still has by far the most eyeballs.

That gives Seven influence with Supercars even though it is the very minor partner in the 2021-25 broadcast deal.

In the $40 million a year deal, Fox Sports sub-lets FTA rights to Seven, which is believed to pay as little as $2 million annually.

It is a commercial windfall for Seven, attracting substantial advertising when packaged with its separate coverage of TCR, S5000 and other ARG properties
Warburton, a minor shareholder of Supercars and a director of ARG, is unusually invested in Seven being seen as the ‘Home Of Motor Sport’ – an extension of its claim to be the ‘Home Of Sport’.

As well as Supercars, ARG and the Australian rally championship, Seven has the FTA rights to the AFL/AFLW, some major horse racing and the Olympic Games.

Warburton reportedly has an intense ‘friendly’ rivalry with Foxtel chief Patrick Delaney. They did the previous broadcast deal when they were the respective heads of Supercars and Fox Sports.

Supercars is pressing Seven to provide more regular exposure across the network.

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