The NASCAR TV deal is done, and it’ll look quite a bit different from the past few years.
The NASCAR Cup Series in particular will be shown via four different broadcast partners beginning in 2025, NASCAR announced Nov. 29.
The deal kicks off for the 2025 NASCAR national series season and is set to conclude in 2031.
“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,” NASCAR President Steve Phelps said in a release. “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.”
The NASCAR Cup Series will have the first 14 races of each season broadcast by FOX Sports, followed by a new entrant in Amazon Prime Video, which will stream the following five — taking NASCAR off broadcast or cable television in that time.
After Amazon, the ensuing five events will be shown on TNT and MAX via a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. Then, NBC Sports will take on the final 14 races of the year.
“NASCAR is the most popular motorsport in the country, and we can’t wait to deliver Cup Series racing to Prime members in the U.S. for the first time,” Jay Marine, vp and global head of sports at Amazon Prime Video, said. “We are excited to find ways to get NASCAR fans closer to the racing than ever before, and we are proud to contribute to the growth of the sport in the years ahead.”
Added Luis Silberwasser, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports: “We are thrilled to welcome NASCAR back to TNT Sports, and build on our rich, shared history of providing immersive fan experiences that only our world-class team can deliver. This agreement expands our portfolio of premium sports content throughout the summer and further elevates MAX and our leading linear networks.
“We look forward to utilizing all of our resources to create new opportunities for compelling storytelling that connects with our fans, as we present the thrilling action and excitement on the track in innovative ways throughout the entire NASCAR season.”
As with previous seasons, the FOX and NBC broadcasts will be split between each company’s flagship channel and its subsets, in this case FOX Sports 1 and USA Network (as well as Peacock), respectively. Five races for FOX and four for NBC will be shown on their flagship channels, with the cable channels taking the rest of the schedule.
As previously announced, The CW will broadcast the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, meanwhile, will remain with FOX.
“We are thrilled that the NASCAR champion will continue to be crowned on our platforms for years to come,” NBC Sports President Rick Cordella said. “Whether it’s the unpredictability of a superspeedway, a playoff cutoff race, or the championship finale, NBC Sports will use its wide array of platforms to present the dramatic conclusion to every NASCAR season for what will be 17 years at the end of this extension.”
“We are proud to begin the next chapter of what will soon be a three-decade relationship with our friends at NASCAR,” FOX Sports CEO and executive producer Eric Shanks added. “As the continued home of the DAYTONA 500, we look forward to getting every season off to a roaring start.”
In addition to their five Cup races apiece, TNT/MAX and Amazon have also secured rights to the broadcasts of practice and qualifying for the series. Amazon will broadcast the first half, followed by TNT/MAX on the back half, some of which will be shown on truTV.
About the author
Rutherford is the managing editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2015 after serving on the editing staff for two years. At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.
A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.
What a cluster %#*#.
NASCAR can try to spin this anyway they want but, as far as I am concerned, this is a huge step backward for them. I’d expect overall viewership to crater next year. The momentum lost for those 10 weeks in the middle of the season will be hard to pick back up when NBC takes over. By then the NFL is gearing up which already sucks the life out of NASCAR. Nevermind the fact that a good deal of fans aren’t going to be willing to pay Amazon for the privilege of watching. Most fans already feel like they are doing NASCAR a favor even tuning in for free.
Totally agree. So how many cable/subscription packages will a fan have to buy if they want to watch all races? Then there’s the whole “what damn station is the race on this week, and what time is it starting?!” It sounds petty (1st world problems), but it does add un-necessary frustration for the core fans who tune in every week. But then, who cares about the core fan base? NA$CAR certainly hasn’t for over 20 years now.
Yep, I agree.. an even bigger step back. I used to didn’t miss a race for nothing and went to 5 or 6 races a year but once they started putting the races on the cable channels it got harder and harder to stay interested cause I wasn’t keeping up with every race.. if the race isn’t on NBC or Fox I just don’t get to watch. I don’t have those tnt, usa end whatever cable channels.. and I’m sure not gonna pay for Amazon or whatever to watch a race. I’m tired of having to work so hard to watch a damn race so I believe I’m just gonna stop trying from now on. I hate that but it stresses me out anymore
You will not be the only one to make this the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Will NA$CAR ever tell us how much the deal is worth in total? Should they be believed?
$7.7 Billion over 7 years,… equalling $1.1 Billion / year. A 35% increase over the previous deal.
So that means even more commercials! I wonder how NA$CAR got the analytic figures to back up their spiels to the networks.
It also means that the networks will be able to control more aspects of what’s left of the sport.
Maybe the networks will want to divide the product into quarters and have three TV time outs and lonnnnnger ones during all the GWCs.
Exactly.
Or run them all at 8PM on Wednesday nights.
Or change the cars to electric because “the optics” are better.
Actually not against that idea,.. might as well. Football games take nearly 4 hours now anyway. 🤷🏼♂️
I don’t believe a 35% increase one but. Wait till the real numbers leak out, and they will.
Where did you see these numbers !! Not doubting you but Nascar for sure doesn’t like giving out numbers and if your numbers are from Nascar then I definitely don’t believe them. If I was a company buying an ad on Nascar I’d for sure look at all the fine print. I honestly don’t believe anyone would give Nascar a 35% increase the way the numbers decrease week over week. I don’t believe it at all
You can see it on Jayski
Nascar tells almost as many lies as Trump. If you don’t believe me go take a look at the Auto Club Speedway, or what’s left of it. There will never be a short track there as the track is being totally torn down.
And you will probably blame that on Trump too. Take you politics elsewhere.
Did you know they have to totally tear down the old track before they can lay the foundation and build the new track?
The Fox flagship channel had the USFL games on Sunday last spring if I remember correctly. But I do have Amazon so I can see a few races on my 7″ tablet in the summer if I think about it. Antenna only on the big TV. I’ll be watching Xfinity races next year instead of 3 manufacturers with 12 cars each, give or take, in the Cup series.
How is taking free public television away from NASCAR fans good for the sport? This is the stupidest decision anyone could make. The same decisions are already affecting baseball and football. So the corporate world is making the general public pay to view the sports contests they have always been able to watch for free. Congratulations corporate world. You are destroying multiple fan bases with your greed.
They actually added with the CW if you think about it. Also,.. the NFL took to streaming with Amazon,.. and they seem fine with it. Granted their ratings are down as well. Honestly all pro sports ratings are down. 🤷🏼♂️
oh brother, what a mess! Gee I remember in 2001 NASCAR made a big deal about you’ll always know where to find the race! That’s out the door.
I wonder what the ratings are for the NFL for Thursday night football since they moved it to prime. I have an account so it’s no a big deal for me to find it BUT I only watch if the teams that are playing are ones I am interested in. When it was on TV, I would probably have put the game on as background noise but swapping between cable and prime is a bit of a pain for my brother so we don’t do it a lot.
The new deal looks like a deal Brian would approve of! Anyone still believe he is gone?
You know, Brian France doesn’t have a monopoly in being an idiot, there is no shortage of suitable replacements to keep the stupid decisions coming,
This feels like extortion to me. I could deal with peacock, since I can get that for $5 a month. Prime is at least 3X more, and on my budget is not feasible. As already mentioned, we are now back on the hunt for what channel, what time, antenna, cable or streaming, premium or not. This really is a cluster.
This will reduce viewership even more. I’m not spending more money to watch TV.
I have been member of the NASCAR fan club for several years. Each week I submit my analysis of, and evaluate the the races. On occasion I respond to surveys requested by NASCAR. Late in the 2023 season I was asked about the possibility of using a streaming service instead of network broadcasting. I STRONGLY advised against this move as I felt viewership would crater.
Over the past 5-10 years I may have missed a race or two but now not only will I miss at least 10 races I’ll also submit my resignation to the NASCAR fan club.
Listen to your fans, NASCAR. Once a fan is “lost” it’s very difficult to regain that fan! You may gain financially in the short term, but you’ll pay dearly over time.
-One very disappointed fan club member!
Looks like this was the last year that I have been able to watch all of the races live or on DVR when other commitments kept me away from the tv on a specific date and time. I have cable so I can still see Fox/FS1, NBC/USA and TNT but I am not about to fork out anything more to get Amazon. And if they continue to schedule for oddball days and times, Ill probably pass on even more races. What a way to treat somebody who attended his 1st race in 1958.