With NASCAR about to enter a new TV contract with Fox and NBC, the two networks are joining forces to promote the new era on television. Even though the two sides compete heavily for sports properties and sometimes exchange barbs on NFL ratings, Fox and NBC decided to come together to televise the sport for the next ten years.
Fox/Fox Sports 1 combine for 16 Sprint Cup and 14 Xfinity Series (formerly Nationwide) races in the first half of the season while NBC/NBCSN will air 20 Sprint Cup and 19 Xfinity Series races in the final portion of the racing calendar. So instead of spending resources solely on their sections of the schedule, Fox and NASCAR will share production trucks. And they’ll look to help each other as the split the races right down the middle, similarly to when both networks aired NASCAR prior to the TV contract that just expired.
Both networks have already combined for a promo and the result is below.
At the 2014 NASCAR Motorsports Marketing Forum, NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus said he’s looking forward to having the Peacock back in the sport, “We can’t wait to get started. We’ve been sitting around on the sidelines for a year and a half since we did this deal; we’re like a puppy that can’t wait to run out the door right now. We started ‘NASCAR America’ last year and we’ve been welcomed warmly by the entire industry, from the tracks to teams to drivers to our partners. ESPN was great to us along the way this year in making sure we had anything we needed from them. They were very classy in their departure.”
Fox Sports President Eric Shanks said with Fox and NBC partnering once again on NASCAR, he’s hopeful that the sport can get back to record viewing levels, “Once NBC got the other half, we really looked at it as kind of going back in time to when we used to split the season 15 years ago, which was a time of great growth for the sport and our networks. We think we can get back to the growth because of the collaboration that we’re going to have, both marketing and production wise.”
With NASCAR’s ratings falling the other way the last few seasons, Fox and NBC are hoping that the momentum from the 2014 Chase will spillover to 2015 and bring back viewers.
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About Ken Fang
Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.
He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.
Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.