Getty A sports analyst predicted ESPN's return to NASCAR.
The next deal between NASCAR and its broadcast partners will not go into effect until the end of the 2024 season, but significant changes could take place. A writer for the Sports Business Journal has predicted that ESPN will return to the fold and replace NBC.
John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal made the prediction as part of a larger article examining the overall landscape. He discussed the future of Amazon’s deal with the NFL, upcoming Formula One seasons, and the SEC’s relationship with CBS. Ourand then highlighted the negotiations between NASCAR and its broadcast partners.
“This deal won’t be completed in 2022,” Ourand wrote. “After all, NASCAR’s current deal runs through 2024. But when the car racing circuit starts its negotiations next year, it will find that Fox wants to renew, while NBC Sports, which will shut down NBCSN on Jan. 1, is more tepid. Talks with ESPN will heat up this year. Fox and ESPN will split the NASCAR package as part of a deal signed in 2023.”
ESPN Last Provided the Broadcast for a NASCAR Race in 2014
The partnership between ESPN and NASCAR first began in 1981 with a race at North Carolina Speedway and continued until the end of the 2002 season. Though only Craftsman Truck Series races aired on ESPN in 2001 and 2002. The Cup Series and Busch Series left after the 2000 season.
ESPN regained the rights to broadcast NASCAR races in 2007. Some aired on ESPN while others aired on ESPN2 and ABC as part of the eight-year contract. The ESPN coverage featured some of the sport’s biggest names in a variety of roles, including Jamie Little, Vince Welch, Brad Daugherty, Dave Burns, and Allen Bestwick among others.
The nearly 30-year run with ESPN, which featured two separate stints, came to an end after the 2014 season. The company aired the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which Kevin Harvick won to secure his Cup Series championship. The partnership came to an end after the driver of the No. 4 held up the trophy and led to NBC Sports returning to the fold.
“We’ve enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial relationship with NASCAR,” said John Skipper, then-president of ESPN, in a 2014 statement. “NASCAR was a fundamental building block for ESPN during our first two decades and will always be an important part of our history. We have tremendous respect for all in the sport and wish them well. While we won’t be televising NASCAR races after this season, the only thing ending in our relationship with NASCAR is the live racing. NASCAR coverage will continue to live on all ESPN platforms going into the future.”
NBC Will Make Changes for the 2022 Season
While there are multiple years remaining before NASCAR reveals if Ourand’s prediction is accurate, there will be some changes in the immediate future. NBC Sports will cease operations as a channel after the calendar turns to 2022, which will lead to Cup Series and Xfinity Series races airing on a different channel.
NBC announced on November 2 that NASCAR is one of many “premium sports” that will head to the USA Network in 2022, a list that also includes IndyCar, the Olympic Games, Premier League, cycling, and many others. All PGA Tour events will remain on the Golf Channel and NBC.
NBC will air the Nashville Superspeedway race on June 26 and then the July 3 race at Road America will kick off the USA portion of the schedule. A total of 11 races will air on USA after the move from NBC Sports, including the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway on September 4 and the Bristol Motor Speedway night race on September 17.
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