NASCAR President Seve Phelps (I) confirmed that progress is being made in negotiations with teams on a new charter agreement.Getty Images
AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR executives said the racing industry is in a good position as it wraps up its 2023 season and nears new media rights deals, but they also admitted more work remains to do. At the annual State of the Sport press conference, held Friday at Phoenix Raceway, President Steve Phelps and COO Steve O’Donnell projected confidence in NASCAR’s business at the end of this year.
NASCAR has yet to announce all of its new TV offerings for 2025, but in a week where Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch After confirming that a revival with his network was near, Phelps said there was “tremendous interest” in the rights. He admitted the deals had taken longer than expected to be finalized, but said the sport would still end up in a good place. NBC Sports also remains in renewal talks while NASCAR is also looking for a new streaming partner, expected to be Amazon or Turner Sports.
Currently, the sport brings in about $820 million a year in media rights, and industry executives are watching to see if NASCAR can get closer to $1 billion a year in the next cycle, which is expected to extend well into the 2030s. Phelps also confirmed that progress was being made in negotiations with the teams over a period new charter agreementas SBJ reported Friday, but declined to release details.
Other highlights of the press conference included both executives admitting that NASCAR has work to do to increase the power of star drivers, but bristling at the idea that this year’s four eligible drivers to win the championship – Kyle Larson, William Byron, Ryan Blaney And Christopher Bell — don’t create a buzz.
Viewership for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season is down 5% heading into the final race of the season, averaging 2.866 million viewers per event, compared to 3.031 million last year. Phelps said much of the drop could be attributed to poor weather conditions at some races and said he expects ratings to increase next year. O’Donnell: “I’m proud of these four drivers and what they do to represent our sport. There are things we need to do as a sport to really showcase more of their talent on the track, and that will help us, but we’re not going to be a soap opera. We are a sport.
O’Donnell also revealed that he is part of a contingent of NASCAR executives who will travel to Japan next week to study hydrogen racing and talk with potential automakers interested in joining Toyota, Chevrolet and Ford as as manufacturers in this sport.
