NASCAR’s new media rights deal will infuse plenty of money into the sport, but will it confuse NASCAR fans?
The new broadcast deal, which begins next season and runs through 2031, is worth an estimated $7.7 billion over seven seasons. That benefits all the sport’s stakeholders, but it comes with some questions about viewers who may be concerned about accessing all the broadcast outlets that will now be part of the sport.
NASCAR President Steve Phelps appeared on Puck’s podcast, The Varsity With John Ourand, to discuss the broadcast deal and fans’ concerns about access.
First, here’s a look at the new schedule. The first 16 NASCAR Cup regular season races in 2025 are on Fox (FS1 will get nine of those races). NBC will broadcast the final 14 races, with four on NBC and the remainder on NBC Sports’ USA Network.
In between those two longtime NASCAR broadcasters are two newcomers. Amazon Prime Video, making its first foray into NASCAR, will televise the five races between May 25 and June 22.
TNT Sports will air the next five races from June 28 through July 27.
There will also be some channel hopping required for fans hoping to catch NASCAR Cup qualifying and practice sessions. Amazon will air all practice and qualifying events for the season’s first half, with the exception of the Daytona 500 events, which will go to Fox.
But Warner Bros. Discovery, parent company of TNT Sports, holds broadcast rights for practice and qualifying sessions in the second half, with those streaming on Max and airing on truTV.
Phelps told Ourand NASCAR needed a mix of broadcasters.
“What was the right mix for us?” Phelps said. “We thought it was important to have some type of over-the-air presence, which we do. … And then we needed to make sure that we were in the market with some type of streaming product, and we have two. We have a pure streamer in Amazon, and then you have one with TNT and partnering with Max.”
Phelps pointed out that, given the industry’s changing emphasis on streaming, the new deal “allows for us over the next seven years … to understand where the marketplace is going to continue to shift to.”
But will the new broadcast deal leave NASCAR fans, who traditionally skew older and are not as tech savvy as younger fans, behind?
“Are you concerned at all about some of your hard-core fans having trouble finding some of these races?” Ourand asked.
“I know that’s a concern of a lot of people, but I think we have a proof point already,” Phelps said, pointing to higher ratings for NASCAR’s Xfinity Series races now airing on The CW, which has taken over broadcast rights from USA Network.
“We’re up 15% over the USA races, so they’re finding it,” he said.
The key, Phelps said, will be promotion.
“But it will be a major promotional effort on our part to make sure fans understand where they can find our races, including practice and qualifying because that will be different for them,” Phelps said.
“I believe our fanbase is going to migrate there. The number of NASCAR fans that subscribe to Amazon Prime is in the 70s (percent). That’s a decent chunk of people. … That universe right now is actually higher, in terms of subscriber base, than the cable universe.
“Do I think our fans will find it? I am confident that they will. And I think a lot of it has to do with just the massive amount of promotion that is going to come from all those partners because it makes sense for them to do it.”
[The Varsity With John Ourand]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.