The Virgin Australia Supercars Championship have announced a new five-year broadcast deal, which will see a joint partnership between Supercars, Fox Sports and the Seven Network.
From 2021 until the end of 2025, every practice, qualifying and race session of the Championship will be shown live and ad free on Fox Sports and Kayo, while Seven will also broadcast six Supercars events live each year.
The sport’s original free-to-air broadcast will also feature special events throughout the year, including the Repco Bathurst 1000 and the Bathurst 12 Hour..
Worth more than $200 million dollars, Supercars CEO Sean Seamer was thrilled with the new deal and the prospect it had of building the profile of the sport in Australia.
“This deal is the product of a significant body of work to ensure we have the best team possible to take us forward in to the future. It provides certainty for our teams, fans and commercial partners that Supercars is here to stay as the top motorsport category in Australasia,” Seamer explained.
“I am delighted to continue working with Patrick Delany and his team at Fox Sports and Foxtel. Their commitment to the sport and standard of coverage is world-class and we’re looking forward to watching on as they showcase the future of Australian motorsport.
“We’re also thrilled to welcome back the Seven Network which helped bring motorsport to Australian living rooms way back in the early 1960s as the original broadcast partners of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the early days of Supercars. Seven is internationally renowned for its motorsport coverage so we’re excited to see them welcome a new generation of fans.”
Seven West Media Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer James Warburton echoed Seamer’s comments and was proud of the network’s established history with the Championship.
“Seven and Supercars have so much shared history, so we’re excited to begin the next part of our story together with this multi-year deal,” Warburton said.
“Seven has long been a pioneer in motorsport coverage; our world-leading innovations include the iconic RaceCam, which made its debut in our coverage of the 1979 Bathurst 1000.
“I want to thank Sean, the Supercars Board and the Supercars team for this outcome, which is a great result for Seven, Supercars, and most importantly, the fans. It will help fuel the growth of the sport into the future. We can’t wait to bring Supercars home to Seven from next year.”
With Foxtel’s motorsport audiences up by 35% this year compared to 2019, Foxtel Group Chief Executive Officer Patrick Delany was happy to continue of the broadcaster commitment to motorsport through Fox Sports and its popular streaming services Kayo and Foxtel Go.
“I’m pleased to have a new five-year agreement in place for the Supercars Championship, putting our subscribers in the driver’s seat for all the excitement and action of every race,” Delany added.
“Our relationship with Supercars dates back to 2015, and along with Formula One and MotoGP, has established Foxtel as the home of Australia’s premium motorsport experience while Kayo has opened up motorsport to a new audience of streaming viewers.
“While the 2020 season has faced disruptions from COVID-19, the team at Supercars have done an outstanding job of keeping their loyal and passionate fan base entertained and most of all producing world-class competition.”
The 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship season still has two rounds remaining with this weekend’s OTR Supersprint The Bend to set up next month’s season finale, the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
