Nascar has expanded its mid-season package to ten races, according to Sports Business Journal (SBJ).
Confirmed:
- The series had been looking to carve out six to eight races for streaming platforms
- Amazon and Turner remain frontrunners for the package
Context:
Nascar has increased the package to ten races in the hopes that it will encourage interested parties to close the deal soon, as it has proved harder to sell than originally anticipated. According to SBJ, there is no significant deadline to finalise the deal, so there is still time for negotiations to run their course before next season.
With Amazon and Turner in pole position, it is possible that the streaming platforms could split the package, with each receiving five races. Nascar, however, hopes for a sole bidder to house all ten races.
Coming next:
Fox and NBC reportedly agreed to renew their broadcast deal with Nascar months ago, but this new contract will be without the Xfinity Series, rights for which went to The CW Network for US$800 million on a seven-year deal, while this mid-season package of races will also subtract from the broadcasters’ inventory from 2025.
It will be interesting to see how this affects the overall rights fee agreed, with Nascar previously rumoured to be looking for an annual figure of around US$1 billion.