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NASCAR agrees to 8-year deal with ESPN, ABC
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Race fans, start your clickers. And make sure the TV listings are handy.
Beginning in 2007, NASCAR viewers will need both to navigate their way through a 36-race television schedule.
NASCAR agreed to an eight-year television deal Wednesday that will split its schedule among four networks beginning in 2007.
NASCAR's 36-race schedule will be divided among ABC/ESPN, Fox and TNT, and the annual all-star race will be aired on the Speed Channel. The deals with all the networks will run through the 2014 season.
Although the actual races will have scheduling continuity, the remainder of the weekend programming -- qualifying, practices and the Busch Series -- will be spread out all over the dial in deals that run through the 2014 season.
The deal marks a return to the sport for ABC/ESPN and the furthering of a long-term relationship for TNT.
ABC/ESPN had been shut out of the last TV contract that began in 2001 and split the schedule among Fox, NBC and the network's sister stations. When NBC declined to extend its contract with NASCAR, it opened the door for the Disney Company to negotiate.
"NASCAR's return to ABC and ESPN, the 'Worldwide Leader in Sports,' is a perfect fit for the sport and the fans," chairman Brian France said. "ESPN's network of networks means that NASCAR will have a strong presence on television, radio, print and new media such as the Internet and wireless applications."
The contract gives the networks television and new media rights to the 17-race Nextel Cup schedule ending with coverage on ABC Sports of the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup" for the drivers' championship.
It will be the first time "The Chase" will be featured on one network. ESPN's networks also will be home to the lower-tier Busch Series. While most of the Busch races will be on ESPN2, the deal calls for no less than three events to air on ABC.
ABC Sports will carry at least 11 of the season-ending 17 NASCAR Nextel Cup events covered by the agreement, with the others on ESPN.
"ABC Sports first exposed sports fans to the racing excitement of NASCAR in the 1960s, and ESPN and the sport grew up together in the 1980s and '90s," said George Bodenheimer, president of ABC/ESPN. "Our tradition is rich, and our future is bright. To NASCAR, its drivers and fans we say, 'Welcome home."'
The agreement also includes a schedule of related programming, including qualifying and practice sessions for both series, a daily NASCAR news and information program, a Nextel Cup pre-race show and a reality series.
The deal also provides for a vast amount of content to fuel ESPN International and the ESPN's extensive multimedia initiatives. The multimedia rights include simulcasting telecasts on all new media platforms, in-progress and post-race highlights.
ESPN will also be NASCAR's exclusive international sales agent worldwide (excluding Mexico and Canada) and will have the right to air all ESPN or ABC Sports ancillary programs on its international networks.
ABC is the only network that has discussed talent, confirming Wednesday that Jerry Punch will be part of the broadcast team. Punch began covering motorsports on "ABC's Wide World of Sports" in 1987 and has been involved in the Indianapolis 500 coverage since 1989.
"This is a major accomplishment for the NASCAR drivers, teams and track operators that have made this sport what it is today," chairman Brian France said. "It represents a significant reward for the competitive side-by-side racing our fans have come to expect. It also validates the marketing and production enhancements our current media partners have brought to the sport.
"The new broadcast partnership is also good for the fans, because they will have so much more NASCAR content from a variety of media and new media sources."
TNT, meanwhile, fought to continue a 22-year relationship with NASCAR. The network, in conjunction with NBC's part of the 2001 deal, has aired seven to eight races a season and wanted to remain involved despite NBC's withdrawal.
So TNT paid for the a stretch of six races in June and July. TNT was adamant that it wanted continuity in scheduling and a marquee event.
"We got both and we're thrilled," David Levy, president of Turner Sports, said of the network deal that includes the July 4 weekend Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway and races 14 through 19 on the schedule.
Fox, meanwhile, continues its run of scheduling the first portion of the season. The network extended its deal for 13 races and the exhibition Budweiser Shootout.
Marc Ganis, a sports marketer who heads Chicago's Sportscorp Ltd., dismissed a suggestion that the multitude of networks could prove confusing to viewers.
"NASCAR is sufficiently attractive to audiences that they will look for where the races are from week to week," he said.
Although it might be easy to find programming on race days, everything else could be a chore for the rabid fan because of the technicalities of the agreements. For instance:
• Speed Channel will air the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series except for two races, which will be broadcast by Fox.
• Nextel Cup qualifying and practices will be broadcast on a combination of Speed, ESPN and ESPN2.
• Speed will broadcast the preliminary races held prior to the Daytona 500.
• In addition to the all-star race, Speed also gets the Pit Crew Challenge.
Spreading the content around was the only way NASCAR could make deals affordable for its partners. Both Fox and NBC lost money on the last deal and in declining to extend its contract, NBC said the value the network put on the NASCAR package was far less than the asking price.
Ganis said the multilayered deal shows NASCAR remains a hot property even after extensive tinkering to its championship format the last two years.
"This validates his [Brian France's] concept of the Chase for the Cup," Ganis said. "This validates his positioning of NASCAR as a national sport."
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