Sky New Zealand secures V8 Supercars broadcast deal

Pay-television broadcaster Sky New Zealand has acquired rights in the country for the V8 Supercars motor-racing series.

The deal will run for five years, from 2013 to 2017, and was struck ahead of the start of the 2013 championship this weekend.

Sky New Zealand will show live coverage on Saturdays and Sundays of each race weekend, with extra coverage provided on Fridays ahead of major race events.

Under the deal, Sky New Zealand has also agreed to provide full coverage of the ITM400 Auckland event in April on a delayed basis via free-to-air television. The operator of the series said that details of the free-to-air coverage would be confirmed soon.