NASCAR insiders bemoan TV networks 'having a lot of say' in how league is run

Two NASCAR insiders understand that TV plays a big part in the organization’s growth and success. On The Teardown podcast, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic answered a question from of fan who asked how NASCAR balances appeasing fans and the TV partners at the same time.

“Unfortunately, we live in a world where TV has essentially propped up the sport,” Gluck said. “They have a lot of say into what is happening. NASCAR, in trying to be a good partner to these people and keep their relationships going and keep their sport going strong, they’re saying, ‘Okay, what do you guys want? What’s going to make you promote it? What’s going to make you sign on for more? What’s going to make you want to invest more?’ This is what the TV networks are telling them.”

“TV in all sports is league’s biggest revenue generator. That’s how they get their biggest amount of money,” Bianchi said. “You can’t turn your back on what your TV partner wants 100 percent and say, ‘No, we don’t want to do that.’ They may have a bad idea like, ‘Hey, that’s not going to work,’ but you can’t say no all the time. You have to be receptive to change and you have to continue to come up with ideas to make you’re sport exciting and evolve.”

NASCAR getting ready to enter new deal with TV partners

Gluck and Bianchi answered this question as NASCAR enters a new deal with its TV partners. In November 2023, NASCAR announced it has reached new seven-year media rights agreements for the Cup Series with FOX Sports, NBC Sports, Amazon’s Prime Video and TNT Sports, and the deal starts in 2025. It was reported the deal is worth nearly $8 billion.

“Our goal was to secure long-term stability with an optimized mix of distribution platforms and innovative partners that would allow us to grow the sport while delivering our product to fans wherever they are — and we’ve achieved that today,” said NASCAR President Steve Phelps said in a press release at the time.

“NASCAR has been a cornerstone property for both new and established platforms for several decades. These agreements demonstrate the staying power of our sport and the consistent, large-scale audience it delivers. This landmark deal underscores our collective growth opportunity to drive engagement across this diverse collection of platforms — whether on broadcast, cable or direct-to-consumer. With the talented young drivers, exciting new teams and record-breaking racing we’ve seen since the Next Gen car was introduced in 2022, we’re looking forward to working with each of these partners to bring some of the best racing in the world to fans everywhere.”