The last time we saw NASCAR on NBC was this...
Tripp Mickle and John Ourand over at Sports Business Journal started this story this morning...
ESPN and Turner Sports will be out of the NASCAR business after next season, according to several sources. NASCAR is planning a press conference later today to announce that Fox and NBC will share rights to the sport starting in 2015. Financial terms of NBC’s deal and its broadcast plans aren’t known, but the network had been pitching NASCAR on returning the Sprint Cup series to broadcast TV and could air races on Sunday afternoons on NBC prior to "Sunday Night Football." NBC also picked up rights to the second half of the Nationwide Series. It’s unclear if those races will be on NBC or NBC Sports Network
NBC has now, officially, signed a 10-year deal with NASCAR through the 2024 season for 20 Sprint Cup races and 19 Nationwide events. It's not known where the remaining "Summer Series" 6-race grouping will air since that negotiation is still in play. The exclusivity window for negotiation ended July 14th, so it was all hands on deck for spending (what is reported in some circles) as up to 50-percent more in fees than what went down in the last deal...
Seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events will be carried on NBC annually, with the remaining 13 airing on NBC Sports Network... or "NBCSN" as branding calls it these days...
ESPN threw in the towel this afternoon and will stop after 34 years of covering the sport live:
Statement from John Skipper, President of ESPN:
“ESPN has enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial relationship with NASCAR. We have tremendous respect for the France family, the drivers and all in the sport and wish them well. We will continue to serve NASCAR fans through SportsCenter and our other news platforms as we continue to enhance our industry-leading collection of quality assets.
“We are looking forward to the start of our Sprint Cup season and will continue with our deep commitment to the highest quality coverage.”
Turner Broadcasting President of Sales, Distribution & Sports David Levy said in another press release: "Turner Sports is proud of the partnership we've built with NASCAR over the past 31 years and the role our company has played in helping to grow the sport. We think NASCAR is an attractive property, but we are disciplined in our approach to negotiating sports rights and could not come up with a business model that was financially prudent for our company."
NBC can now pair the NASCAR package with their five-ringed circus coverage complete with cross-promotion and all the bells and whistles that go with it- which could justify their rate increase for the rights fees...
NBC will find ways to make their money back, but the larger issue could be the ratings- which were the lowest in their era for broadcast
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