Supercars wants ‘more than AUS$200m’ from next TV deal

The Supercars Championship is targeting at least AUS$200 million (US$128 million) from its next media rights deal, according to the Australian Financial Review (AFR).

(Un)confirmed:

• Supercars wants around AUS$40 million (US$25.7 million) per year from next contract
• Foxtel ‘in the driver’s seat’ to renew its existing arrangement
• Network Ten and Seven are battling it out for the free-to-air (FTA) component of the deal

Context:

Foxtel and Seven, the current rights holders, agreed a deal worth around AUS$165 million (US$106 million) five years ago. At the time, Supercars announced the deal was worth AUS$200 million, though this was in ‘cash and advertising’ which inflated the real value.

Supercars previously pocketed AUS$241 million (US$169 million) from its deals with Foxtel and Ten which expired in 2020, so the Australian touring car series is aiming to return to a similarly lucrative agreement.

The annual target of AUS$40 million would bring Supercars much closer to the current value of Formula One rights in Australia. Foxtel pays a reported AUS$45 million (US$28.9 million) per year for exclusive coverage of the global motorsport series.

Coming next:

IMG is leading the broadcast process, having boosted the revenue of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in recent years. On the Supercars side, negotiations will be spearheaded by new chief executive James Warburton, who actually brokered the previous media rights deal as chief executive of Seven.

Foxtel, now owned by DAZN, will likely be able to wield greater financial power with the backing of the global sports streamer. Supercars will also hope that its new championship format will encourage a higher price for its broadcast rights, with ‘Sprint’ and ‘Enduro’ cups forming the traditional regular season, before the seven-race Finals Series determines the overall champion.

Go deeper:

• Supercars introduces postseason races in 2025 schedule revamp
• Supercars: Triple Eight making surprise Ford switch from 2026