TV War Over V8 Broadcast Rights Stops Craig Lowndes From Defending Bathurst Title

A TV war over V8 broadcast rights "will stop Craig Lowndes from defending his Bathurst 12-hour title, with the fabled event to be robbed of its biggest stars," according to James Phelps of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. A spat between "heavyweight networks" Seven and Ten "turned nasty last week with V8 Supercars scheduling an official Test day on the weekend of the 12-hour, which prevents V8 stars such as Lowndes competing in the rival event." The unprecedented move "came just days after failed V8 Supercars broadcast rights’ bidder Channel 7 announced a rich deal to televise every minute of the Bathurst 12-hour live." Channel 7, which holds the V8 broadcast rights until the end of the year, "lost the sport to a joint Channel 10 and Foxtel bid, with the duo planning a Supercar blitz from 2015." The decision to pick up the non-V8 Supercars Bathurst 12-hour race, which is a separate event from the V8 Bathurst 1000, was seen by the new broadcast rights’ holders as "sour grapes" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 6/28).