This weekend’s second V8 Supercars championship event of the season at Symmons Plains Raceway in Tasmania is the litmus test of the series’ new television deal.
Though it could face stiff competition should Australia progress to face off against New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup final.
The Tasmanian event is the first non-marquee round to feature exclusively live on Fox Sports. While every session will be live on the pay television network, free-to-air viewers will get an hour’s highlights package at 8:30pm on ONE on Saturday and 4pm on Ten on Sunday.
While the season-opening Clipsal 500 and five other marquee events are live across both Fox Sports and Ten, this is the very first Australian touring-car event to feature a whole race on pay television exclusively.
So, how will the ratings on ONE and Ten hold up given the delay? Will the fans without Fox Sports persist with the delayed coverage? Or will they simply rely on finding out the results on social media and not bother with free-to-air coverage?
And how will the exclusively live race coverage on Fox Sports compare to the Clipsal 500, where the live coverage was split across pay television and free-to-air?
The latter question could be influenced by the clash with the Cricket World Cup, especially if Australia defeats India and sets up a final with trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand at the MCG on Sunday.
Sunday’s V8 Supercars race gets underway at 2pm and should run till around 3:30pm, before Fox Sports’ motorsport coverage moves on to the Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
The Cricket World Cup final starts at 2.30pm on Fox Sports and Nine, which could force non-diehard V8 Supercars fans and the general sports-watching public to switch across.
Remember, too, the conflict will have an impact in New Zealand, where V8 Supercars’ popularity is on the up with race-winning Kiwis Shane van Gisbergen, Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard now genuine championship contenders.
But an India versus New Zealand final won’t have the same impact on Australian television audiences, without the home team playing at the MCG, providing V8 Supercars with a better chance at rating strongly on Sunday.
In this sense, there could be some within V8 Supercars that will be quietly hoping India can get the better of Australia and take the local interest away from the final.
Ironically, V8 Supercars scheduled its pre-season test day up against the Bathurst 12 Hour to find some free air between the Asian Cup and Cricket World Cup at the start of February.
Now, this weekend, the Cricket World Cup could come back to haunt V8 Supercars. If Australia can get the job done, that is.
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