Thursday, August 01, 2013

FOX Sports Entends Agreement with NASCAR

FOX Sports and NASCAR have announced a new, two-year extension of their multi-platform, multi-series media rights agreement through 2022. The new pact extends the agreement from 2015 through the  2024 season, and gives FOX Sports exclusive rights to three additional NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events and the first 14 NASCAR Nationwide Series races of each season.

FOX Sports secured exclusive rights to the entire NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season through 2022 last fall and that agreement has also been extended through 2024. Financial terms of the extended pact were not disclosed.
NASCAR’s media rights package for 2015 and beyond is now complete, with FOX Sports holding rights to the first 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, the first 14 NASCAR Nationwide Series races and entire NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule. NBC will televise the final 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, the final 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series races and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events, beginning in 2015.  
Under the new deals, NASCAR will have the same number of NASCAR Sprint Cup races on network television – 16 – as it does in the current television package. FOX Sports will broadcast nine races and NBC will show seven.  
“FOX Sports has been an outstanding partner for NASCAR and we could not be more pleased with the additional commitment they are making to our sport and the fans,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. “FOX Sports has delivered for our fans a number of innovations that have changed how our sport is presented, and our entire industry has now come to expect excellence from NASCAR on FOX. We believe this new agreement underscores our shared commitment to the fans over the next decade.”
FOX Sports began broadcasting live NASCAR races in 2001 and will launch its new all-sports network, FOX Sports 1, on Aug. 17 with a live broadcast of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race from Michigan International Speedway as the network’s first-ever live event. NASCAR will be an anchor property for FOX Sports 1 and has been a large part of the promotional efforts to launch the new network. This new agreement marks the return of the NASCAR Nationwide Series to FOX Sports, a series it broadcast as part of its original package beginning in 2001. 
“FOX Sports is now the exclusive home of NASCAR, the most popular racing series in America, for the first five months of every season through 2024,” said FOX Sports Co-Presidents and COOs Randy Freer and Eric Shanks. “The NASCAR Nationwide Series is second only to NASCAR Sprint Cup as the most-watched form of auto racing in the country. FOX Sports now owns the sport every weekend from Speedweeks and the Daytona 500 through June, and we expect these events to provide significant viewership for FOX Sports 1. The addition of Nationwide to the 1,100 hours of original motorsports programming already scheduled clearly puts FOX Sports at the front of the race to serve motorsports fans in the U.S.”
“We obviously are excited to extend our relationship with FOX Sports with a good balance of racing on the FOX Network,” said NASCAR VP of Broadcasting and Productions Steve Herbst. “NASCAR on FOX has been very popular with NASCAR fans everywhere and we believe its expanded schedule will strengthen its relationship with the fans and provide the sport with many opportunities to cross-promote and grow our combined audiences.”  
Summary of FOX Sports’ Exclusive Rights (2015-2024):
·         First 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races of each season, including the Daytona 500
·         Nine on FOX Sports and seven on FOX Sports 1
·         First 14 NASCAR Nationwide Series points races of each season
·         Fourteen races on FOX Sports 1
·         NASCAR Sprint Unlimited, Budweiser Duel and NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
·         All NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races

10 comments:

  1. Well I guess this signals the end of the fans ability to watch the sport without subscribing to a second or third tier package with their TV service provider.

    Such a shame that while they complain of declining viewership and attendance they decide that it is in the best interest of the sport to force people to pay more to attend races or watch it on TV.

    I guess it is time to find another sport to become a fan of. After 44 years of being a NASCAR fan I can no longer afford to watch it not only at the track but also in my home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, as it says in the article, there will be as many race on "free" broadcast TV under this new contract than under the current pact. You have lost nothing.

      Delete
    2. In your summary Dave, it says that nine of the NSCS races will be on Fox Sports (commercial TV) and seven will be on Fox Sports 1... clarification? Also it appears that the NNWS will be on Fox Sports 1 as well instead of a first tier cable network. I have read that it is possible that Fox Sports 1 is hoping to get cable providers to shift them to a first tier like ESPN did with some of their channels. Comments? Thanks!

      Delete
    3. I fail to see how fox will get sports 1 moved to a basic sub tier while asking providers to pay what they are wanting from them.

      The increase is sizable for their carry fee.

      I believe we have a much better chance of NBCSN being a first tier channel then Speed/FS1.

      Thanks for the reply Dave. It is Great to see active participation in the comments from the actual blogger here, I know your schedule is heavy. I, also, would like to take a little space to express my appreciation for maintaining a site not requiring social media to comment on once again.

      Delete
    4. Oppps forgot to add:

      You would not watch half a movie and never watch the other half would you?

      Watching half a season somehow just seems like a large waste of time and somewhat disappointing when there are other activities/sports that get full season "Free" broadcasts.

      Maybe when sponsors realize there investment is now worth half of what it was and it effects the sponsor dollars negatively they will rethink this.

      Let's face it the only people that benefited from this is the France family and select NASCAR Execs.

      Delete
    5. Name one major professional sport that has its entire season broadcast by one TV partner. The NHL is the closest thing I can think of. It is an all-NBC product, but their games are spread out of 3-4 NBC family networks including NBC, NBC Sports Net and CNBC.

      Delete
    6. Dave all of those are 1st tier channels, not second or third tier channels. That is my point. This just deepens the rift between the older fans that have been advocates of the sport before BF and his boys knew what a broadcast partner was.

      Delete
  2. People already think NASCAR is over-priced, and not a good value. That's why ESPN & TNT walked away, leaving Fox and NBC bidding against themselves.

    I think NASCAR is running out of golden eggs. Who knows, maybe someday the availability to view NASCAR races will go back to the future, and only the bigger races will be on TV?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some people do not understand that putting their TV product on second and third tier channels reduces viewer numbers not increases them.

      I imagine many will begin to understand when they have been a multi-decade fan and the sport prices them out of being able to follow it. Try doing it on a fixed income if you should become disabled or heaven forbid you manage to make it to retirement.

      Again we know who made the big coin on this deal and who forgot the fans.

      Read the posts all over the net by fans about lack of respect for analyst and broadcasters. Read the many articles that have stated the dislike of the continued direction of the sports broadcast schedule, partners, and related opinions and information.

      Daytona Beach and the current Executive branch of NASCAR has forgotten the fans, you know the people that pay for tickets and consume broadcasts not only of competition but also the related programming, that includes TV and Radio. The fans go away and there is no need for all that coverage or all those broadcast jobs.

      I remember a TV ad where a 4 letter word for farm wagon was C.A.R.T. currently a 6 letter word meaning "screw your fans" is N.A.S.C.A.R.!

      Delete
  3. Boogity Boogity Boogity X 16 Sprint Cup races
    Boogity Boogity Boogity X 14 Nationwide races

    That's a total of 90 Boogities per season. I think I am going to be sick!

    ReplyDelete