NASHVILLE, Tenn. — NBC Sports will continue to be the home of the Cup playoffs, signing a new deal with NASCAR that goes from 2025-31, it was announced Wednesday at the Music City Center.
NASCAR also announced that Fox will continue to broadcast Cup races and that Warner Bros. Discovery/TNT and Amazon will each broadcast five Cup summer races starting in 2025. Each company’s deal goes through 2031.
“We want to meet race fans where they are, or potential race fans where they are,” NASCAR President Steve Phelps said Wednesday.
Sports Business Journal reported Wednesday that the seven-year deal is worth $7.7 billion.
Including the Xfinity Series deal with the CW Network, which was announced in July, the average annual value of the new media rights deals for NASCAR will be $1.1 billion a year, according to Sports Business Journal. That’s nearly 40% over NASCAR’s current deal.
NASCAR’s 10-year media rights deal, which ends after next season, is worth a reported $8.2 billion.
Fox will broadcast the first 14 races of the Cup season. Amazon’s Prime Video will stream the next five races — marking the first time Cup races have been exclusively streamed. Warner Bros. Discovery will broadcast the next five races on both TNT and the B/R Sports tier on the Max streaming service. NBC Sports will air the final 14 races.
Amazon Prime also will carry practice and qualifying from the start of the season through its five races with the exception of the Busch Light Clash, Daytona 500 and All-Star Race.
Warner Bros. Discovery will carry practice and qualifying the rest of the season on truTV and stream on Max.
NBC Sports’ coverage will be presented annually across a combination of NBC, USA Network and Peacock. NBC Sports digital platforms will live stream all television coverage via authentication.
“We are thrilled that the NASCAR champion will continue to be crowned on our platforms for years to come,” said NBC Sports President Rick Cordella. “Whether it’s the unpredictability of a superspeedway, a playoff cutoff race, or the championship finale, NBC Sports will use its wide array of platforms to present the dramatic conclusion to every NASCAR season for what will be 17 years at the end of this extension.”
In the ninth season of the current agreement, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series on NBC, USA Network, and Peacock delivered a Total Audience Delivery of 2.47 million viewers across 20 races, up vs the comparable coverage in 2022 (2.45 million viewers), according to data provided by the Nielsen Company and Adobe Analytics.
NBC broadcast Cup races from 2001-06 and has been airing Cup races — including the playoffs and championship race since 2015.
In the past nine seasons, NBC has broadcast Jimmie Johnson winning his record-tying seventh Cup title, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano each winning two championships and Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney each winning their first crown.
“For a decade, NBC Sports has delivered some of the biggest moments in NASCAR to millions of fans, including their broadcasts of the playoffs and our season finale championship race,” said NASCAR President Steve Phelps in a statement. “They continue to be a tremendous partner, and we can’t wait to watch the drama and excitement unfold with race fans everywhere across NBC platforms for another seven years.”
In 2024, NBC Sports will broadcast the final 20 Cup races of the season beginning with the first Cup race at Iowa Speedway on June 16 on USA Network. NBC will broadcast the championship race Nov. 10 at Phoenix Raceway.
The deal marks the continuation of a 32-year relationship with NASCAR that began in 1983.
“We are thrilled to welcome NASCAR back to TNT Sports, and build on our rich, shared history of providing immersive fan experiences that only our world-class team can deliver,” said Luis Silberwasser, Chairman and CEO, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports in a statement.
“This agreement expands our portfolio of premium sports content throughout the Summer and further elevates Max and our leading linear networks. We look forward to utilizing all of our resources to create new opportunities for compelling storytelling that connects with our fans, as we present the thrilling action and excitement on the track in innovative ways throughout the entire NASCAR season.”