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Supercars CEO Sean Seamer has pointed towards a new television deal being announced around this year’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
Details of the new deal have slowly come to light since it was revealed Network 10 would no longer be the free-to-air broadcaster of the Supercars Championship beyond 2020.
Seven Network is in the box seat to take over the role as free-to-air broadcaster from 2021 while pay television service Fox Sports is expected to be retained.
The current six-year deal between Supercars, Fox Sports, and Network 10 is worth $241 million.
It is expected the new deal will see Supercars sign Fox Sports and the Seven Network on a five-year contract.
How much Fox Sports and the Seven Network will pay is not yet known, though it is understood Network 10 was asked to pay $8 million to continue as the free-to-air broadcaster beyond 2020.
On Thursday it was announced automotive retailer Repco had signed a five-year deal to be the naming rights sponsor of Supercars.
Repco will also be the naming rights sponsor of the Bathurst 1000 on another five-year deal.
Speaking in a media roundtable teleconference, which included Speedcafe.com, Seamer said a broadcast deal confirmation would come soon in line with recent announcements.
“A bit like this (Repco) deal, we’ll be announcing it when it’s done, but you don’t have long to wait,” said Seamer.
Speedcafe.com understands that deal is all but done with promotional material for the Seven Network recently filmed in the Northern Territory.
Seamer said an announcement will be made once all parties are ready, which is expected to be around the time of this year’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
“I think that that’s a reasonable timeline to be working to,” Seamer said when asked if an announcement would come around the time of the Great Race.
“Obviously there’s a lot going on at the moment,” said Seamer.
“We’ve got this announcement that we want to make sure got full support from everybody.
“But we’ve also been doing a lot of work around planning for Bathurst and making sure that we can get our teams there.
“It’s just a function of the amount of work we’ve got going on and making sure that the timing is right for all of our partners.”
This year’s Bathurst 1000 will take place on October 15-18.
