Supercars will return to the Seven Network in 2021 after securing a new five-year broadcast deal.
The motorsport championship announced on Thursday it has signed with the free-to-air network and Fox Sports in a five-year deal running until the end of 2025.
It's a return for Supercars to Seven, which broadcast the championship from 2009 to 2014 before Foxtel and Network Ten won the rights in 2015.
The $200 million-plus deal is understood to be for less than the $241 million five-year deal signed by the pay TV broadcaster and Ten over the past five years.
Supercars hopes a move back to Seven will penetrate further than the coverage on Ten, which has been criticised by teams for affecting sponsor interest through a reduced free-to-air audience.
Under the new deal, Foxtel remains the main service for Supercars, broadcasting every practice, qualifying and race session of the championship.
Seven will show six events each year live with the marquee Bathurst 1000 and Adelaide 500 races among those that will be slated for free-to-air broadcast - along with the Bathurst 12 hour.
"This deal ... provides certainty for our teams, fans and commercial partners that Supercars is here to stay as the top motorsport category in Australasia," Supercars chief executive Sean Seamer said.
The new deal comes three months after New Zealand pay-TV service Sky Sports sealed a five-year deal to broadcast the championship across the Tasman.
Australian Associated Press
