V8 Supercars boss James Warburton has defended the sport's move to a pay TV deal, saying the current arrangement with Channel 7 "put the sport on its knees".

Fans have spoken out about a change of broadcasters after this weekend's Sydney 500 that will see just six rounds of the championship broadcast live and free on Channel Ten in 2015, with other racing relegated to a delayed highlights service or shown live on Fox Sports.

V8 Supercars chief executive James Warburton. Credit:David Mariuz

But chief executive James Warburton said the sport was forced to take a subscriber-based $241 million deal in order to stay afloat. "The sport needs to survive," he said.

"You've got to maximise your outcome out of TV rights, it's the same as the NRL, or AFL, or any other code. We had to do that."