Nascar Inks Rights Deals With ABC Sports/ESPN, TNT

[Sean Mota]

Nascar has reached separate, eight-year TV rights deals with ABC Sports/ESPN, and Turner Broadcasting, under which ABC/ESPN would pay $270 million per year and Turner's TNT would pay $80 million per year. The terms of the deal was first reported by SportsBusiness Journal and confirmed by Mediaweek through its independent sources.

Nascar has not officially announced the deal, apparantly wanting to wait until it finalizes a deal with Fox for the remainder of the race telecasts. A Fox official said the network is continuing to negotiate and expects to reach an agreement with Nascar, but said nothing has been finalized.

Under the new deal, ABC/ESPN will televise 17 Nextel Cup races during the second half of the season [previously part of the NBC/TNT combined package] and all of the Busch Series races [which were previously part of the previous Fox package]. Among those 17 will be 10 "Chase for the Cup" races, which will all air on ABC. Most of the Busch Series races will air on ESPN2.

Turner's TNT will air six Nextel Cup races, three from the previous Fox package and three from the previous NBC/TNT package. Those races will air between the first half package, expected to be Fox's, and the new ABC/ESPN package.

Under the previous TV rights packages, which expired after this just completed Nascar season, NBC/TNT combined paid $200 million per year for the second half of the Nascar season, and no Busch races. NBC and Fox split airing of the Daytona 500 in alternating years under the previous pact. Under the new agreement with Fox, which is still in discussion, Fox would air the Daytona 500, which opens the Nascar season, every year. Fox would also air 13 races to start the season.

Source

 

[DWS44]

Thank god we finally get ESPN back in the mix...I hope we get Bob Jenkins and Dr. Jerry Punch back in the broadcasting in the process! They never forgot that the race was the show and the entertainment, not them. Today's FOX and NBC/TNT crew never have figured that out.

I'll also be glad to get away from NBC, as the local folks just havent quite figured out this HD stuff yet. Took them a year to "flip the switch" consistently not just show the SD version, and this season, the sound was screwed up in some way nearly every week.

 

[dfergie]

Thank god we finally get ESPN back in the mix...I hope we get Bob Jenkins and Dr. Jerry Punch back in the broadcasting in the process! They never forgot that the race was the show and the entertainment, not them. .

I too missed the ESPN coverage of Nascar...

 

[Mr Tony]

remember when TNN (Nashville Network) showed races

 

[dfergie]

remember when TNN (Nashville Network) showed races

Heh, the Swamp Buggy Races, Drag Races etc...

 

[snaggerbob]

No more B.P. What will we do? NBC really sucked with their coverage...the sound was always messed up. I wonder if the ESPN coverage will be HD? Who's everyones driver?? Tony Stewart really grew up this year.

 

[DWS44]

remember when TNN (Nashville Network) showed races

TNN was probably my second favorite behind ESPN. I always loved Buddy Baker's commentary...probably my favorite of any of the "expert" analysts out there. Of course, listening to Eli Gold for any length of time has always been an acquired taste! hehe

My guess is that we'll see Rusty Wallace pop up for one of the broadcasters when they shake things up for 07. I'll bet Benny Parsons stays around with TNT, too, though they could probably find someone better to replace Dallenbach with (Perhaps Rusty)

Who's everyones driver?? Tony Stewart really grew up this year.

I'm a big fan of Terry and Bobby Labonte, though it's been a tough couple of years lately. Hopefully Bobby will get the 43 turned around...can't be much worse than the 18 has become. Terry doesnt have much chance anymore, driving cars constructed with whatever the 24/48 teams throw in the dumpster. Perhaps his deal with the HOF 96 team will give him a chance in those handful of races, but that doesnt happen too often with start-up teams. Growing up watching the sport in the 80s, it's hard watching all the guys I've rooted for for 20+ years retire, including Terry, and I find myself losing interest in the newer, tradition-be-damned NA$CAR.

 

[Mr Tony]

Who's everyones driver?? Tony Stewart really grew up this year.

HURL against Stewart...can't stand him

Since my driver is done (Rusty I don't know yet.

and how the hell does Mark Martin's sponser go from the boner medication (Viagra) to AAA?

 

[dfergie]

Heh, the Swamp Buggy Races, Drag Races etc...

National Sports Calvacade...

 

[goaliebob99]

the only thing that sucks about this is the hd races just went from 1080I to 720P....... NO problems with NBC here..

 

[korsjs]

fox showed them in 720p. i do agree they looked better on nbc/tnt in 1080i.

 

[cablewithaview]

NASCAR-Rights Talks Near Finish Line

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is nearing the checkered flag on its latest round of TV-rights negotiations.

ABC/ESPN and Turner Sports have already secured places on victory lane, while Fox is in the home stretch of a finalizing an eight-year deal, according to network officials familiar with the negotiations.

The new eight-year rights package, which will go into effect following the 2006 season, could be announced as early as this week. Currently, Fox and NBC/Turner pay a combined $2.4 billion for a six-year deal.

When everything’s in gear, Fox is expected to retain the bulk of the first half of the top-level Nextel Cup series races, including the sport’s centerpiece, the Daytona 500. However, it would lose access to the second-level Busch series, all of which is headed to ESPN/ESPN2. The new contract would take sister cable service FX -- which televised a number of Nextel and Busch races in the first half of the year -- out of the NASCAR garage.

Some of the support races around Daytona are expected to instead park at Fox-owned Speed Channel, which will also pick up the Nextel All-Star Challenge. Speed will also gain a two-year extension to the rights to a trio of NASCAR-related shows that it currently holds through 2012, putting that contract in synch with the rest of the new TV deals to 2014.

And Speed is in line to retain national exclusivity for the Craftsman Truck Series, according to executives familiar with the negotiations.

A Fox spokesman said, “We are still negotiating. We don’t have an agreement at this time.”

Turner -- which saw its partner, NBC, pull out of the NASCAR negotiations in October -- will see its package reduced to six Nextel races, bridging the first and second halves of the seasons in June and July, for a reported $80 million-$85 million, highlighted by the Pepsi 400 in primetime on Fourth of July weekend. Turner officials declined comment.

As for ABC/ESPN -- which is said to be allocating some $270 million annually under the new pact -- they will team up on 17 Nextel Cup events in the second half of the year, including the 10-race season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup races. Most of the 35 Busch series races are slated to air on ESPN2. ESPN officials declined to comment.

Upon conclusion of the TV-rights deals, NASCAR is also expected to wrap up a renewal with Turner in which the programmer will continue to manage and sell ads for NASCAR.com (www.nascar.com).

NASCAR executives didn’t return phone calls by press time.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6288747.html?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP&nid=2226

 

[jollygrunt]

I too am glad that ESPN will be showing Nascar races again.

My favorite drivers are Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

 

[DWS44]

Only bad thing I see in that is the Winston (yeah...I'm old school) being on Speed Channel, which means no HD for that, which seems like it should be a showcase race warranting the same HD of the majority of the other events. Right now, only the few races on FX aren't shown in HD.

 

[BlackHitachi]

Heh, the Swamp Buggy Races, Drag Races etc...

Oh yea i used to LOVE the swamp Buggy Races!!