NASCAR to include streaming in new 7-year media rights deal that welcomes Amazon, TNT and Max

NASHVILLE, Tenn, (AP) — NASCAR has added two new partners and streaming elements to a seven-year media rights deal announced Wednesday that will run from 2025 through the 2031 season.

The new media rights deal is worth $7.7 billion when the previously announced $1.1 billion agreement with CW is included, according to Sports Business Journal. NASCAR did not reveal monetary figures at the news conference held at the Music City Center one day before its season-ending awards ceremony.

The Cup Series will include existing partners Fox Sports and NBC, which will feature a mix of broadcast and cable events. Five races will be on Fox and four on NBC, with the remaining races for those two partners to air on FS1 and USA Network.

Warner Bros. Discovery and Amazon have also joined the new package. SBJ said the value of the new deal is a 40% increase over the 10-year, $8.2 billion deal NASCAR has with Fox and NBC that expires at the end of the 2024 season.

“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,” NASCAR President Steve Phelps said. “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. We’re looking forward to working with each of these partners to bring some of the best racing in the world to fans everywhere.”

As part of the deals, Fox will get 14 Cup Series races annually in the first portion of the season, including the Daytona 500. Fox also retained the entire Truck Series schedule.

After the Fox portion of the Cup Series, the next five Cup races will be on Amazon Prime Video. It marks the first time in NASCAR history its top series will be exclusively streamed.

Warner Bros. Discovery will take over after Amazon’s races and carry the next five races. Those will be simulcast on TNT and streamed on the Max service.

“This agreement expands our portfolio of premium sports content throughout the summer and further elevates Max and our leading linear networks,” said Luis Silberwasser, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports.

NBC Sports will complete the season with the final 14 races.

“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.”

Warner Bros. Discovery and Amazon also both obtained exclusive rights to practice and qualifying sessions for the entire Cup Series schedule through 2031. Prime Video will stream practice and qualifying live for the first half of the season through their last race of the midseason series — except for the exhibition Busch Light Clash, the Daytona 500 and NASCAR All-Star Race, which will be aired by FOX Sports.

TNT Sports’ portion will stream the remainder of the season’s practice and qualifying sessions on Max while they also air on truTV. NASCAR in July announced a deal to move the second-tier Xfinity Series to CW, which will air 33 live races from 2025 through 2031. The CW also will televise practice and qualifying events each weekend.

NASCAR’s previous media rights package gave the first 18 races to Fox while NBC aired 20 races.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing