The CW, which becomes the exclusive home of the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2025, is already reportedly considering a big change.
Adam Stern of the Sports Business Journal reported Thursday the network is considering broadcasting some races next season remotely, from NASCAR studios in North Carolina.
The CW is paying NASCAR $115 million annually through 2031 to air Xfinity Series races, practices and qualifying events. The network actually began the broadcast package in late September, and is broadcasting Xfinity Series playoff races, using production and broadcasters from NBC.
Remote broadcasting began as a pandemic necessity, but it has persisted and become more common for some sports, as broadcasters look to cut costs. However, that has led to issues, such as announcers missing obvious situations they would see if they were on site. ESPN and TNT were questioned for their use of remote production or announcers during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the tactic has been used for many other sports, from MLB to college basketball.
The report caught the attention of Dale Earnhardt Jr., a two-time Xfinity Series (then Busch Series) champion back in the late 1990s.
I hope they do not. https://t.co/k9tQBjlPPj
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) October 9, 2024
Stern reported that Nexstar, The CW’s parent company, and NASCAR are discussing “how many races Nexstar will work on with NASCAR to call remotely from NASCAR’s $53M, 58,000-square-foot production facility.” That indicates that some races will be called remotely, the only question is how many.
