It’s been confirmed that Ten will cease to broadcast the Supercars Championship at the end of this season.
Last I heard, Seven were looking into gaining the television broadcasting rights (in conjunction with Foxtel) from the 2021 season onwards.
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That article was published a few weeks ago and already discussed in the 10 Sport thread
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Yes it was, but we shall centralise discussion about the next Supercars rights here 
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With Seven almost certain to gain the broadcasting rights to Supercars next year, it remains to be seen how they would handle both that and the AFL on weekends when the two sports are scheduled simultaneously.
I think the broadcasting arrangement for the major markets might go something like this -
- in the rugby league markets (i.e. Sydney and Brisbane), the Supercars would be broadcast on the main channel, with the AFL on 7mate.
- in the other markets, the AFL would be broadcast on the main channel, with the Supercars on 7mate (I believe there was a similar arrangement in place between 2007-14, when Seven last had the Supercars).
- during the AFL off-season, Supercars would be broadcast on the main channel in all markets, including the flagship Bathurst 1000.
In the past, Weekend Sunrise would not air on the Sunday of the Bathurst 1000, but what I reckon they should do is this:
- on the east coast, schedule Weekend Sunrise as usual, however the program would end at 9:00am. The Bathurst 1000 build-up would start at 7:00am AEST on 7mate, and then continue on Seven from 9:00am.
- in Perth, the start of the race would be shown on 7mate and then viewers would be asked to “switch to Seven” (like what Seven does with the cricket) at 9:00am.
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This article suggests that the majority of Seven’s Supercars coverage will be on 7mate, though I’d expect the marquee events such as the Adelaide 500, Bathurst 1000, Gold Coast 600 and Newcastle 500 will be on the main channel.
All four of those said events will take place outside of the AFL season.
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10 scaling back sports rights by the look of it
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Yes, have a read of this: Ten Sport
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10 will have Albert Park 400 in conjunction with F1 till the end of 2022 season.
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The key takeout is from this paragraph.
Industry sources have said that under the new agreement Seven will broadcast six of the sport’s races, including the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. Subscription television partner Foxtel is still in negotiations over a new deal.
Which is utterly dreadful, as it will be like what 10 is currently airing at the moment.
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I’m guessing the six races will be Adelaide, Darwin, Townsville, Bathurst, the Gold Coast and Newcastle.
I’d say their limited coverage is (mostly) due to AFL and the local leagues.
Quite disappointing, to be honest. When Seven last had the rights, I believe they covered most, if not all, rounds live (or at least one of the two or three races in a given round), shifting to 7mate in the southern states if the AFL was on.
A dud deal if Seven cannot televise every round of Supercars live.
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Maybe they don’t want to as it’s not worth the money? If so, then maybe it’s not a dud deal from their perspective?
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It might be a great deal for 7. Clearly not paying much as it’s a revenue sharing deal. What do you expect? Pay peanuts and get the entire slate?
I don’t see how Seven acquiring FTA right to coverage of the Supercars aligns with their efforts to reach a different audience, new entertainment strategy or current debt problem.
Warburton having prior employment and business interests with Supercars and TCR Australia speaks volumes with Seven picking up both broadcast rights.
And towards the end they really took the piss with their coverage - more and more of it was delayed
With Supercars producing the coverage, it’s surely attractive from an outlay point of view.
Motorsport is very lucrative with sponsors, much more than you’d expect. The audience that watches is very interested in cars (obviously) but also likes tinkering, fixing, souping them up so the likes of Repco etc and motor products love advertising on the coverage. It is a slightly different audience.
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Auto Action are reporting more there would be more FTA coverage
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Perhaps both the Nine and Auto Action reports are right about the Seven component of the deal? What I mean by that is the deal might consist of Seven showing full coverage of six rounds as well as selected Sunday races from the other rounds
UPDATE 23/9: Seamer attended the Foxtel sports event yesterday (September 22) but did not announce the rights renewal for Foxtel. He did say “there will be more good news later in the week”.
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