James Warburton back in the driver’s seat at Supercars
Former Seven West Media boss James Warburton has confirmed his return to Supercars, Australia’s peak motorsport product.
Warburton will return as the sport’s chief executive officer, effective July 23. He was previously CEO from 2013-2017.
“Supercars holds a very special place in Australian sport, and I’m honoured to be returning to lead the business into its next phase,” he said in a media release on Monday.
“This is a championship with passionate fans, incredible on-track action, and huge potential to grow. The business has evolved significantly in recent years and I’m excited to build on the strong foundation already in place.”
Warburton speaking at a Supercars event, 2017
Warburton’s professional history dips in and out of media. He was Seven’s sales boss, before defecting to Network Ten to take up the CEO role. After a little more than a year, he was fired by Ten’s board following record-low ratings.
He then spent the four years with Supercars, before joining APN Outdoor as CEO — he left when it was acquired by JC Decaux. In 2019, Warburton became the CEO of Seven West Media, where he remained until mid-last year.
While he was originally due to finish up at Seven towards the end of FY24, Warburton’s resignation was made effective last April, following a number of recent controversies at the broadcaster, including an expenses scandal investigation by the Sydney Morning Herald, and a former Spotlight producer claiming the network paid for drugs, sex workers and more to secure an interview with Bruce Lehrmann.
Broadcast rights for the Supercars currently sit with Fox Sports and Warburton’s former employer, Seven Network. The current agreement is in its fifth and final year.
It saw the sport change its free-to-air partner for the first time since Warburton’s other former employer, Ten, won the rights in 2014. Seven previously held the rights from 1963-1996, and again from 2007-2014.
The $200 million, five-year deal allowed Seven to broadcast six events, including the Bathurst 1000, while Fox Sports has continued to broadcast all races. Warburton was responsible for signing the deal when he was at Seven.
A younger Warburton, 2013
Warburton replaces outgoing Supercars CEO Shane Howard, who has transitioned to the role of director of motorsport and Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises (RACE) board director. Supercars was acquired by RACE in 2021.
RACE chairman Barclay Nettlefold — who is also the chairman of QMS and NZ-based Mediaworks — described Warburton as an “energetic, strategic and results-driven” executive.
“He understands the DNA of our sport and has a proven track record of delivering commercial success and building trusted relationships with teams, partners, broadcasters and fans alike,” he said in the release.
“His return reflects our ambition to strengthen Supercars’ position as a world-class sporting and entertainment product.”
The Seven-to-sport pipeline has precedents. Last week Seven news boss Anthony De Ceglie announced his departure to head up the NRL’s newest team, the Perth Bears, as its inaugural CEO. The broadcaster has confirmed Perth news boss Ray Kuka will replace De Ceglie.
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Lauren McNamara was the associate editor at Mumbrella. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS. She left Mumbrella in August 2025.
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James should stick with his toy cars and leave network television to the adults
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