Seven agrees wide-ranging Australian Racing Group deal

Commercial free-to-air broadcaster Seven has agreed a multi-year rights deal with promoter the Australian Racing Group taking in a range of its motor-racing properties.

Commencing in 2020, Seven will broadcast the TCR Australia Series touring car championship and open-wheel series S5000, as well as other feature categories from the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships racing programme.

A minimum of six hours of live coverage across the Saturday and Sunday of each event is stipulated within the deal, along with simulcast on 7plus, Seven’s BVOD service. Seven’s renewed commitment to Australian motorsport will also feature extensive live coverage of two major events at Australia’s most iconic race track – Mount Panorama, Bathurst.

The two ARG events, the Bathurst 6 Hour over the Easter weekend and the recently announced Bathurst International in December 2020, will both receive extended television time on Seven channels.

Confirmation of the deal comes after Seven was reported to be in advanced talks over a rights agreement for the fledgling TCR Australia and S5000 series. TCR Australia and S5000 launched this year and had held rights deals with public-service broadcaster SBS.
The Seven agreement comes after James Warburton, a non-executive director at ARG, became the new chief executive of Seven West Media in August.

The first round that Seven will cover from the TCR Australia and the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships will be at Sydney Motorsport Park on March 27-29 next year.