The rights to broadcast NASCAR on TV and radio are probably one of the most prized rights that any media company would love to possess. During the early days of NASCAR, programs like CBS Sports only showed 10- to 15-minute clips of races. During major races like the Daytona 500, they would only air these highlights live for a certain number of laps. However, since the 1979 Daytona 500, media houses have started featuring the races live from the start to the end. And since then, NASCAR has centralized the rights to broadcast its races. Now that the scenario inside the big association is changing, 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin shares his opinion on the same.

Major networks like ESPN, FOX, and NBC have always craved the rights to broadcast NASCAR races. Good for NASCAR; money is flowing in. Currently, the big two are NBC and FOX. However, NASCAR is now expanding its reach by partnering with the CW Network to air the Xfinity Series races.

Denny Hamlin talks about the NASCAR Xfinity Rights deal and its effects

Back in 2006, CBS and Warner Bros. merged and formed the CW, which is a major media company in the United States of America. CW is now adding a new feather by entering into a deal with NASCAR to promote the Xfinity Series. As per their pact, CW will telecast 33 live races yearly, including practice and qualifying races every weekend. Post-2025, watching every Xfinity Series race will be free of charge on TV and also on CW digital platforms. This is good news for every NASCAR fan out there. But there is a catch to that.

In a recent episode of Actions Detrimental, Denny Hamlin expressed his views on how this might affect the media dominance of NBC and FOX, the other two partners of NASCAR, and with that, their $8.8 billion dollar contract.

The discussion was that, with the Xfinity series on CW and the Truck series on FOX over the weekend, one would definitely be left in a dilemma as to which one to watch and when. The Toyota Camry driver agreed that although there is value to it, the question is: will NBC and FOX be okay with it? Denny Hamlin said, “…the folks that watch cup qualifying…what happens after the cup qualifying? You’ve got the Xfinity race. Now you’ve gotta tune out of that to go to CW.”

The details of how much NASCAR is actually willing to pay are still unknown. “I mean, I’ve seen cross-promoting a lot actually…It’s an important thing to help the overall sport grow. If the overall sport grows, then each will get more advertising revenue because more people are tuning in…” Denny Hamlin added afterward.

Indeed, NASCAR has come a long way since each track negotiated its broadcasting rights with the networks. And an old partner has left the stage as this journey has continued to where NASCAR stands today in American sports culture.

NASCAR’s old partner cast in the shadows since 2014

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The 2014 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway marked the end of the liaison between ESPN and NASCAR. The company had been involved with NASCAR culture for decades since the 1980s.

Since the spring 1981 race at Rockingham, ESPN has aired a whopping 398 races. However, money does matter. ESPN was not ready to stand on par with the money that FOX and NBC took out of their wallets to sign the 10-year-long deal from 2015 to 2024. Many familiar faces at ESPN drifted to various other domains. Allen Bestwick moved to cover IndyCar races while Nicole Briscoe transitioned to SportsCenter. JTG Daugherty Racing owner Brad Daugherty shifted to basketball, whereas Ricky Craven stayed as a NASCAR analyst.

Some others, like Mike Massaro and Dave Burns, had moved to NBC and FOX, respectively. NASCAR enthusiasts are eager to know if CW will be able to give the NASCAR Xfinity Series the popularity that it deserves. Getting to see the races for free is definitely good news for everyone.

NASCAR With a Colossal Move to “LIVE” Stream Xfinity Series on Free Over-The-Air Broadcasting Channel