Ten could put the brakes on Supercars

[Juarez Jed]

Fans of the late Peter Griffin will be saddened to hear that Fox have shown the door to his son Andy who was part of the Ch7 motor racing telecasts back in the day and has been a commentator and sideline reporter for Fox League for many years.
The cuts at Fox are not finished.

[V8 Fireworks]

Originally Posted by Juarez Jed

Obviously without TV money the category is not sustainable

Why the heck is it so expensive, what kind of race category is that which can't cover it's costs by commercial sponsorship and needs to rely on exorbitant hosting fees (i.e., astronomical ticket prices for fans) and exorbitant television fees.

The commercial value of the name on the side of the racecar for 14 rounds on free-to-air television should be enough to cover the running costs! If it's not, surely the commercial value is too low (perhaps due to being on subscription television) and the running costs are too high.

[S griffin]

It should be cheaper, but I guess they need to get the revenue someway and we know how important sponsorship is. I just hope the racing comes back. Must be hard if you can’t watch it, I just hope there is enough money to keep it going somehow

[Casper]

Originally Posted by V8 Fireworks

Why the heck is it so expensive, what kind of race category is that which can't cover it's costs by commercial sponsorship and needs to rely on exorbitant hosting fees (i.e., astronomical ticket prices for fans) and exorbitant television fees.

The commercial value of the name on the side of the racecar for 14 rounds on free-to-air television should be enough to cover the running costs! If it's not, surely the commercial value is too low (perhaps due to being on subscription television) and the running costs are too high.

The business model was based on TV + sponsorship and not sponsorship alone just like all professional sport. It is a business based on a predicted income and that was always the intention. F1 is the same Bernie offered the deal to the teams and they knocked it back which in hind sight was not a good idea at all. To ask the business to now change its business/trading model is not realistic unless it can replace the lost income from the TV rights. It is for this very reasons that it can be asumed the result from a substantial loss of these earnings is not going to very pretty. Foxtel announced a new $10 per month streaming division today but that is only a finger in the dyke so to speak.

[chavez]

Originally Posted by Casper

The business model was based on TV + sponsorship and not sponsorship alone just like all professional sport. It is a business based on a predicted income and that was always the intention. F1 is the same Bernie offered the deal to the teams and they knocked it back which in hind sight was not a good idea at all. To ask the business to now change its business/trading model is not realistic unless it can replace the lost income from the TV rights. It is for this very reasons that it can be asumed the result from a substantial loss of these earnings is not going to very pretty. Foxtel announced a new $10 per month streaming division today but that is only a finger in the dyke so to speak.

The value of the rights over time went up and down like a honeymooner's blind.

Any business model based on that level on unpredictability was bound to eventually fail.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by chavez

The value of the rights over time went up and down like a honeymooner's blind.

Any business model based on that level on unpredictability was bound to eventually fail.

Agree totally.

[Casper]

Originally Posted by chavez

The value of the rights over time went up and down like a honeymooner's blind.

Any business model based on that level on unpredictability was bound to eventually fail.

Absolutely, all professional sport relied on the media rights accruing value and getting more every time they were renewed but we are now seeing what the sport owners did not and that is going to affect all sport. Foxtel were the golden handshake so to speak and their demise if it happens will leave the FTA media the only game in town.

[Juarez Jed]

Until Tony came along the professional teams were funded by manufacturers and corporations and the bulk of the field were semi-funded privateers.
Obviously it will be unsustainable to keep the category at the professional , some say extravagant, level it has been at for 25 years without substantial tv income. Sponsorship alone cannot support the number of crew members or level of infrastructure required these days.
There will always be an ATCC it just wont be as we have known it.
Do they have to go back to volunteers making up the majority of the crew on race day ? Lets see.

[S griffin]

The championship has always had backings from manufacturers and that's what has contributed to the success of the series. As has the TV package no doubt, so let's hope they see sense and make sure the racing is on TV that everyone can watch down under. With tough times around the world, now is a good time too to cut costs.

I've always liked the V8 Supercars and no doubt it can and probably will survive, but it needs careful managing to make sure the grid numbers don't go down and teams can survive. No doubt I and others around the world look forward to V8 supercars returning, it is something that really wets the appetite.

[blaarg]

380k per annum per REC for the current foxtel contract isn't that great a deal when you consider the cost of running a team versus the displacement in viewership and sponsorship ROI.

Was it really worth it in the end? Of course not.

[S griffin]

Exactly, they’ve lost the audience by putting it behind a paywall. It hasn’t worked with F1 either has it? Lessons need to be learned. The series needs to keep the interest from the public if it is to survive

I don’t blame you guys being upset with this short sighted move. I’m just grateful that over here the BTCC has had to good sense to keep it on FTA.

[blaarg]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Exactly, they’ve lost the audience by putting it behind a paywall. It hasn’t worked with F1 either has it? Lessons need to be learned. The series needs to keep the interest from the public if it is to survive

I don’t blame you guys being upset with this short sighted move. I’m just grateful that over here the BTCC has had to good sense to keep it on FTA.

It's my opinion the casual viewer was hugely undervalued during the previous deal. Casual viewership is a massive market for sponsors and the sport. If you block-out these valuable viewers behind a paywall, you've not only lost financial opportunity for sponsors (and devalued potential team income) but you've eliminated the mechanism that your sport needs to grow its supporter base. (which results in improved track side ticket and corporate sponsorship sales at events)

Supercars have a good and entertaining product. I'm confident it can be salvaged, they just need to address their network reach and continuity for the casual viewer- and the most tried and tested method (in this country) to achieve this is through FTA.

[cavvy]

Originally Posted by blaarg

It's my opinion the casual viewer was hugely undervalued during the previous deal. Casual viewership is a massive market for sponsors and the sport. If you block-out these valuable viewers behind a paywall, you've not only lost financial opportunity for sponsors (and devalued potential team income) but you've eliminated the mechanism that your sport needs to grow its supporter base. (which results in improved track side ticket and corporate sponsorship sales at events)

Supercars have a good and entertaining product. I'm confident it can be salvaged, they just need to address their network reach and continuity for the casual viewer- and the most tried and tested method (in this country) to achieve this is through FTA.

FTA in Aus can not sustain what they have been paying for sports media rights generally.

Digressing but its a long time since Craig Lowndes was a $mil to drive .... didnt think it was good value then.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by cavvy

FTA in Aus can not sustain what they have been paying for sports media rights generally.

So Supercars need to get real with the actual value of their TV deal, given the current market conditions, taking on board that with limited TV exposure event and team sponsorship becomes nigh on impossible to justify.

[thunderbolt]

https://www.speedcafe.com/2020/05/25...to-air-future/

Seven had become the traditional place for the Australian Touring Car Championship prior to 10’s original, 10-year run as rights holder, and gained the Bathurst 12 Hour after most recently dropping Supercars.

It has also returned to genuine domestic motorsport this year with a deal to show Australian Racing Group series including TCR Australia and the VHT Australian S5000 Championship, although it is yet to do so due to the postponements caused by the coronavirus.

While parent Seven West Media is now led by former Supercars CEO James Warburton, who is known to still be enthusiastic about motorsport, the company carries a significant debt burden and is also reining in expenditure.

Nine, which once telecast F1, does not have a strong recent history with motorsport and the Nine Entertainment Company, too, is hurting at present.

Arguably promising for Supercars is that sentimentality does not mean much to decision-makers at the former Kerry Packer empire if recent moves to effectively swap cricket for tennis and to play tough with the Australian Rugby League Commission are any guide.

Theoretically, the ABC and SBS are options but neither would likely deliver significant revenue to Supercars, if at all.

It is debatable also as to how much reach the public broadcasters boast in practice, despite having the same availability as their commercial counterparts.