NASCAR set to announce nearly $8 billion in media rights deals
NASCAR is set to announce $7.7 billion in media rights deals with FOX Sports, NBC, Warner Bros. Discovery and Amazon, per a report from Sports Business Journal.
The deals are scheduled to run from 2025 through 2031, with an average annual value of $1.1 billion, up nearly 40% from NASCAR’s current deals. NASCAR is expected to make the announcement official in Nashville later this afternoon as part of its end-of-season banquet. A news conference has been scheduled for 5 p.m. ET.
Under the current deal, FOX Sports carried 18 races, while NBC Sports picked up the remaining 20. Under the new layout, FOX Sports will broadcast the first 14 Cup Series races of the season. Amazon Prime Video will host the next five events. Warner Bros. Discovery will carry the following five races, which will be simulcasted on TNT and the B/R Sports tier on the Max streaming service. The final 14 races of the season will be on NBC Sports.
Of the 14 races on FOX Sports, five will be on the FOX broadcast channel and the rest on FS1. Of the 14 to be aired on NBC Sports, four will be on the NBC broadcast channel and the others on USA Network. The CW will air all of the Xfinity Series races. FOX will continue to air the Truck Series races, as its done since 2015.
NASCAR President Steve Phelps provides clarity on new media rights deals
NASCAR President Steve Phelps said during a webinar Monday that having options to watch races on platforms other than cable is important for the future of the sport.
“I think what I would call hedging our bet is a smart thing for us to do as a sport,” Phelps said, via NBC Sports. “No one has any idea what’s going to happen with streaming and what’s going to happen with cable. We do know that broadcast television is going to be around for the foreseeable future at 125 million homes. That’s not going to change.
“What we do know is that the cable universe has declined. So what does that look like in two years, five years, seven years? Don’t know. But we better make sure that we have distribution points that will allow us to be successful moving forward, to have as many eyeballs as we can, while not insignificant, also getting paid. The revenue is significant that comes from these media rights or from these media partners.”
NASCAR’s schedule is expected to remain at 38 races — 36 points races and two exhibitions (Clash at the Coliseum and the All-Star Race).