Nascar president Steve Phelps has confirmed there will be more than two broadcasters as part of the 2025 rights extension deal.
Confirmed:
- Fox and NBC have both confirmed that a broadcast deal is imminent
- At least one of Amazon and Turner looks set to pick up mid-season package of races
Context:
It seems to be a matter of time until Fox and NBC announce an extension to their current US$8.2 billion broadcast deal with Nascar, with Fox chief executive Lachlan Murdoch having confirmed weeks ago that a deal is imminent. However, a new aspect of the deal commencing in 2025 is that a mid-season package of ten races will be offered to at least one streaming platform. These comments from Phelps imply that this aspect of the contract is nearing completion, and that both Amazon and Turner could end up with a segment.
Comment:
Phelps said during a webinar, as reported by NBC Sports: “We are going to have an additional partner and we may have two additional partners. That’s kind of where we’re trying to figure out in these last few weeks – what that’s going to look like, but we already know we’re going to have more partners.
“I think what I would call hedging our bet is a smart thing for us to do as a sport. 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.”
Coming next:
With Nascar teams reportedly aiming for between US$16 million to US$18 million from this broadcast deal, an increase on their current 25 per cent cut, and the Xfinity Series having been carved out to The CW Network for US$800 million on a seven-year contract, it will be interesting to see where the new deal ultimately lands. With at least one streaming platform set to take the mid-season package of races, can Nascar justify the US$1 billion per season that it is reportedly looking for?