Free-to-air Supercars broadcasters, Network 10, has confirmed it will no longer televise the series beyond 2020.
The deal means Seven Network is poised to take over as Australia’s FTA provider, adding the series to their growing line-up of motorsports which includes the Australian Racing Group championships of TCR Australia and S5000.
The new broadcast rights deal is believed to be less than the existing five-year $241 million agreement that expires at the end of 2020.
“Network 10 will not renew its contract with the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, which expires at the end of this year,” a Network 10 spokesperson confirmed today.
“Network 10 has enjoyed a great relationship with the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship over the past six years and it’s been a privilege to bring our audiences world-class racing.
“We look forward to finishing on a high with the 2020 Bathurst 1000 in October. We wish the drivers, crews and all those behind the scenes the very best for the 2021 season.”
Channel 10 have recently cited their Supercars coverage as a loss-making deal with speculation of an exit surfacing when the Channel’s owners Viacom admitted that they are no longer prepared to invest in Supercars.
What the loss of Network 10 means in the terms of revenue remains murky, but clearly it’s not the sort of news that Archer Capital, the majority shareholder of Supercars, and the teams themselves will want to hear.
Archer Capital was waiting on the new TV deal to activate its long-planned sale of the business, though any sale will likely fall significantly short of the $134 million deal that was signed back in 2012.
Channel 7 will show more events live than Ten does now across its FTA channels and 7Plus streaming platform.
Foxtel will likely continue its paid broadcasting services, extending a deal which was initially inked back in 2015.