Supercars has confirmed to Speedcafe that the opening 100km Friday Adelaide race will be exclusive to its subscription TV partner Foxtel/Kayo Sports.
Foxtel/Kayo Sports and Supercars’ free-to-air outlet Seven will both carry live coverage of the Saturday and Sunday Adelaide races.
The category’s current broadcast deal, which is in its final season, gives Foxtel/Fox Sports exclusive Friday rights to all events outside of the Bathurst 1000.
That fact came to light on the eve of the Sydney 500 in February after Supercars had unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a reprieve to allow Seven to show the Friday season-opener.
Townsville and Adelaide are also part of Seven’s line-up of six ‘live’ events for the season but feature Friday racing that will be exclusive to Foxtel/Kayo.
Adelaide has added a 100km Friday race to its traditional 250km Saturday and Sunday encounters this year as part of its new ‘Grand Final’ status.
Four drivers will head into the weekend with a chance at the championship under the new format in a move designed to align Supercars with other Australian sporting competitions.
While Grand Finals for the football codes must be on free-to-air TV under anti-siphoning laws, the only Supercars event protected by that is the Bathurst 1000.
Mark Warren, CEO of Adelaide event promoter the South Australian Motor Sport Board, wants to see the Friday race on free-to-air TV in future.
“I think having all races on free-to-air for the Grand Final event would be fantastic,” Warren told Speedcafe.
“But that would be down to the communication rights holders and the contracts that are in place between Supercars and them.
“Going forward I think if it was up to us, we’d certainly like to see it on free-to-air, because that would bring in more of a national audience.
“Particularly because Friday could be that ‘eliminator’ race. I think there’s going to be a lot of people interested in seeing that.”
Warren affirmed that the SAMSB has made its position clear to Supercars.
“Supercars right now are in their communication rights negotiations [for 2026 and beyond],” he added.
“What they’ve said to us is that they’re keen to get that secured as quickly as possible and we’ve put our position forward as to what we’d like to see.”
The free-to-air Friday blackout means three of the seven Supercars Final Series races will be exclusive to Foxtel/Kayo, as the penultimate round at Sandown is also not on Seven.
Supercars’ three-round Finals Series consists of the Gold Coast 500 (two races), Sandown 500 (two races) and Adelaide Grand Final (three races).
Confirming the Adelaide TV structure to Speedcafe, a Supercars spokesperson stressed the success of the split pay TV/free-to-air model at the Sydney 500.
“Supercars can confirm that the opening race of the 2025 bp Adelaide Grand Final, held on Friday 28th November, will be broadcast exclusively live on Foxtel and Kayo Sports,” said the spokesperson.
“The pivotal Championship-deciding races on Saturday and Sunday will continue to be broadcast live on both Foxtel and the Seven Network, ensuring fans across Australia can witness the thrilling conclusion to the season.
“This broadcast model was successfully staged at the season-opening Thrifty Sydney 500, where Saturday and Sunday races were made available on both platforms.
“The result was a significant increase in total television audience across the weekend, demonstrating strong engagement and growth in viewership.
“We are confident this model strikes the right balance between maximising exposure for our Championship and delivering value to our broadcast partners.”
The Sydney 500 enjoyed a large increase in TV ratings compared to the Sydney SuperNight event of 2024, which was held in July and did not carry any live free-to-air coverage.
Having a mix of exclusive pay TV and simulcast free-to-air broadcasts during any given regular season weekend is commonplace among the football codes, while all finals matches are live on FTA.
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