Australian pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports has acquired exclusive Formula One rights as part of a new agreement with the motor-racing series.
The five-year deal runs until the end of the 2022 season, with Fox Sports to show every race live from next year.
As part of the agreement, commercial broadcaster Ten will only show free-to-air coverage of the Australian Grand Prix from 2018 onwards.
Ten had previously held rights to 10 races. Under the new deal, it will show delayed free-to-view highlights of every race.
All remaining races of the 2017 season will be shown live on Fox Sports and on free-to-air television. Yesterday’s (Sunday’s) Malaysian Grand Prix was shown live on Fox Sports and through the Foxtel Now streaming service, for which a two-week free trial has been made available.
Ten, one of the main sports broadcasters in Australia, entered into voluntary administration in June. Last month, its creditors agreed a deal for it to be acquired by US network CBS for Aus$209.7m (€139.5m/$163.9m). CBS will take control of Ten once regulatory approval is confirmed.
Ian Holmes, global director of media rights for F1, said: “Following the recent difficulties at Network Ten, our first priority was to ensure that Australian fans of Formula 1 remained able to watch the Championship without interruption. I’m pleased to say that, having moved quickly, it is now guaranteed that anyone in Australia who wishes to watch the remainder of the 2017 Championship and next year’s Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix will be able to do so live on Fox Sports, or delayed via the free of charge service provided by Network Ten.”