(Photo: NASCAR's new broadcast deal will assure long-term stability for the sport)
On Wednesday afternoon it was announced by NASCAR and its media partners that contracts will be extended with its two current broadcasters as well as new agreements that will have the sport shown on new broadcast platforms. The new deal will go into effect in 2025 and will extend through 2031 and will be worth a total of $7.7 Billion.
Fox and NBC will continue to show live NASCAR broadcasts during that time period with Fox airing the first 14 events of each season either on the Fox Network or on FS1 while NBC will get the final 14 races on the schedule being shown by either the NBC Network or the USA Network. The 10 races that make up the middle portion of the schedule will air on Amazon Prime for five events then on TNT and the Max streaming service simultaneously after that.
The Amazon portion of the schedule will mark the first time NASCAR races will be exclusively shown by a streaming service. Streaming will also be used for practice and qualifying sessions.
But the real news here is the fact that this deal involves a 40% increase in the revenue generated by broadcasting rights as well as the guarantee that NASCAR will have television presence through the 2031 season.
NASCAR's leadership addressed the new deal in a release sent on Wednesday.
“Our goal was to secure long-term stability with an optimized mix of distribution platforms and innovative partners that would allow us to grow the sport while delivering our product to fans wherever they are – and we’ve achieved that today,” said NASCAR President, Steve Phelps. “NASCAR has been a cornerstone property for both new and established platforms for several decades. These agreements demonstrate the staying power of our sport and the consistent, large-scale audience it delivers. This landmark deal underscores our collective growth opportunity to drive engagement across this diverse collection of platforms – whether on broadcast, cable or direct-to-consumer. With the talented young drivers, exciting new teams and record-breaking racing we’ve seen since the Next Gen car was introduced in 2022, we’re looking forward to working with each of these partners to bring some of the best racing in the world to fans everywhere.”
In the ever changing landscape of sports broadcasting, networks and streaming services alike have shown that live content is a much sought after property. Considering that NASCAR's current deal with its media partners is set to expire at the end of the upcoming season, the sanctioning body was perfectly positioned to make such a landmark agreement.
“These agreements not only show NASCAR’s importance to the sports and entertainment ecosystem, but also the willingness of some of the world’s largest and most respected media companies to make significant investments in America’s leading motorsport,” said Senior Vice President, Media and Productions, NASCAR, Brian Herbst. “The media landscape is rapidly evolving, with new distribution platforms providing more options to the consumer than ever before. This is the right mix of media partners to promote and deliver content around our sport – positioning NASCAR for growth across different mediums and giving our fans uninterrupted access on the established platforms that they are already using. We are excited to work with this best-in-class group of media companies to deliver the best of NASCAR racing and the excitement of live sports to our fans.”
From the standpoint of financial gain, this move is extremely important. NASCAR has the ability to remain a viable part of the sports landscape due to this assured capital. Futhermore, with the automobile industry in a state of change from a technological perspective, racing will have to change with it. This influx of money will aid whatever transition that is to occur over the next several years.
And just as important as the financial windfall of such agreements is the fact that Wednesday's announcement will assure that NASCAR will be a major sports entity for the foreseeable future.
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