In a surprising twist, NASCAR’s Xfinity Series has landed with The CW.
The news was first reported by Sports Business Journal on Friday, with NASCAR later confirming that The CW would be the exclusive home for the Xfinity Series race starting in 2025. The deal runs through 2031 and according to SBJ, The CW will pay $115 million per year for the rights while carrying 33 Xfinity Series races per year, in addition to practices and qualifying events.
For the first time in series history, every NASCAR Xfinity Series race will be available on free, over-the-air broadcast television. Additional content will also be made available through The CW’s digital platforms. NASCAR Productions will produce the races, in coordination with The CW, who will be responsible for bringing in the on-air talent.
Here’s what Dennis Miller, President of The CW, and Brian Herbst, Senior Vice President, Media and Productions for NASCAR, had to say about the agreed-upon deal:
“Landing the NASCAR Xfinity Series is a game changer for The CW and our CW Sports division and represents another important building block in our programming strategy,” said Miller. “Live sports are the most watched television content and with The CW’s national reach, moving NASCAR Xfinity Series to The CW will transform and elevate the viewing experience for the series and its fans. The CW has quickly become a destination for sports, as the NASCAR Xfinity Series joins our growing slate of sports programming, including INSIDE THE NFL, ACC college football and basketball, LIV Golf, and the motorsports documentary series 100 DAYS TO INDY. Beginning in 2025, The CW will have 48 weekends per year of live sports programming. With ubiquitous distribution across one of the nation’s five major broadcast networks, NASCAR Xfinity Series races on The CW will deliver more access for fans and far more revenue opportunities for The CW and its affiliates.”
Herbst said: “CW’s leadership shared a compelling vision for cultivating the next generation of NASCAR talent by bringing the NASCAR Xfinity Series exclusively to broadcast television and we are thrilled for the opportunity to partner with them. With more than 1 million viewers tuning in each week to see NASCAR’s future stars battle some of its biggest names at our most legendary tracks, the NASCAR Xfinity Series consistently delivers the moments that excite current fans and create new fans of our great sport.”
The NASCAR Xfinity Races include some of the sport’s most iconic tracks, like the Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and the series championship at Phoenix Raceway.
This is just another instance of The CW throwing its hat into the live sports ring. Earlier this month, it was announced that 50 Raycom-produced ACC basketball and football games dropped by Diamond Sports had landed with the television network. The CW’s deal for the games runs through the 2026-27 season and includes 13 football games, 28 men’s basketball games and nine women’s basketball games.
According to SBJ, The CW will have live sports programming 48 weekends each year starting in 2025.
[NASCAR via Sports Business Journal]
