Free-to-air viewers may miss out in record V8 Supercars deal Money spinners: V8 Supercars V8 Supercars' aspirations of a larger television audience is set to come about after a record six-year, $241 million media rights deal was unveiled on Wednesday. However, while the new agreement is good news for the sport's owners, there are no guarantees it will be the best option for free-to-air viewers. The racing category will return to Channel Ten between 2015 and 2020 as part of a multi-platform deal brokered by the sport's new boss, James Warburton. For the first time, every round will be telecast live on Foxtel, Fox Sports and their digital subsidiaries, and include to-the-minute coverage of all practice, qualifying and every championship race. The return to Ten completes the broadcaster's motorsport portfolio, which already includes formula one and MotoGP. The Seven Network has held the rights since 2007 and will broadcast the 2014 series. Warburton said the new agreement future-proofed the sport, but he was coy about whether fans would need to pay for the privilege. "We'll release the 2015 schedule properly, but the reality is that there will be parts of the series which is exclusive to subscription and there will be parts of it which is simulcast on either free-to-air and on Foxtel," he said. Asked whether viewers would need a Foxtel subscription to view every race, Warburton said: "We've ensured that all the fans won't miss out but we've structured things in a way and every sport has done the same thing in terms of splitting the rights." The new deal comprises $241 million across six years, consisting of $196 million in cash and $45 million in advertising revenue. It is understood the current television rights deal amounts to less than $20 million a year for V8 Supercars stakeholders. Warburton, a former senior executive at Ten and Seven, has been agitating for a more mainstream presence on Seven's programming schedule since taking the V8 Supercars helm in May. In a statement, Seven West Media chief Tim Worner said the broadcaster tabled a competitive offer to V8 Supercars for ongoing rights, but it was declined.