Regional fans set for Supercars TV blackout
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 16 June 2025
The upcoming Darwin Triple Crown may be especially notable for regional fans who consume their Supercars on free-to-air TV, as they may face a blackout next month.
This is the worrying news reported by the Australian Financial Review after regional broadcaster WIN Corporation confirmed it would no longer carry the signal of all three Seven Network channels in the Mount Gambier and Loxton regions of South Australia, plus Griffith in New South Wales.
This is due to a breakdown of commercial negotiations between WIN and Seven West Media for a new deal.
Currently, WIN holds a broadcast licence for all three major commercial networks, where it pays a fee for content and regains money through local advertising.
It has historically broadcast Seven’s content under a carriage agreement that runs out at the end of June.
As a result, aerials in these areas will lose signal for Seven, 7mate and 7two from July 1 unless a new deal is struck at the last minute.
It could mean this weekend’s Darwin Triple Crown would be the last sight of Supercars for some fans.
This will be a crying shame for Supercars fans as they will not be able to enjoy the final four free-to-air rounds without streaming.
Seven broadcasts live coverage of the Sydney 500, Darwin Triple Crown, Townsville 500, Bathurst 1000, Gold Coast 500 and Adelaide Grand Final events in 2025, plus late night highlight packages of the rest.
Although the content will still be available on streaming service 7plus, Supercars has a strong regional following, with many long-term fans, who rely on the traditional method free-to-air channels shown directly to their TV.
WIN has been a major part of bringing Supercars to a national audience, with the network also taking the sport to regional TVs during both Channel 10 eras as well.
It will be a big blow for Mount Gambier in particular, as the “Blue Lake City” is currently making a big splash in Supercars.
The 2025 season is the first time a Mount Gambier driver is taking on Supercars full time, thanks to the arrival of Grove Racing teenager Kai Allen.
Meanwhile, the town also produced Super2 driver Jobe Stewart, and many would also love to see him take on the Bathurst 1000 for the first time with Erebus.
Erebus also has a strong connection to the Limestone Coast thanks to fabricator James White.
The chassis builder is based in Mount Gambier where he constructed the team’s first Gen3 Camaros, among others.
“While we are disappointed with Seven West Media’s decision, we respect their right to pursue their own commercial strategies,” WIN Network CEO Andrew Lancaster said.
“WIN remains committed to serving our regional audiences with a strong local presence and programming.
“WIN continues to evolve as Australia’s largest regional television network.
“We remain focused on delivering high-quality content, regional news, and regional advertising solutions across our footprint.”
It will be a massive loss for sports fans in general, as Seven also has deals to screen each AFL season and all home Australian Test matches and select BBL games each summer.
To avoid such dilemmas, back in the early eighties and even as recently as 2003, the ABC carried on broadcasting cricket in select areas where Channel Nine was not available, despite Kerry Packer winning the rights to ensure all Australians could watch it.
Hopefully, something similar can happen in 2025, as thousands could be forced to miss the annual ritual of watching the Great Race at Bathurst, among other blue-ribbon Supercars rounds after Darwin.
Even though this is the last season under the current TV rights cycle, incumbents Seven and Fox Sports are expected to renew.
There is still hope as Seven stated, it remains open to further negotiations.
“Seven is disappointed it has not been able to reach an agreement with WIN to broadcast Seven’s content in the Riverland and Griffith,” a Seven statement read.
“The communities living in the Riverland and Griffith are incredibly important to Seven and pleasingly, they will continue to have access to all of our content, including the AFL and cricket, via our live and free streaming platform, 7plus.”
Image: Peter Norton
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