NBC Sports will televise its first-ever live NASCAR
race in covering the inaugural Jiffy Lube Miami 400 weekend
from Miami-Homestead Motorsports Complex beginning in
November '99. NBC signed a three-year deal where it will
televise both the Busch Series points race on Saturday and
the new Winston Cup Series race on Sunday. Though NBC
Sports has televised motorsports events before, this will be
its first live coverage of a NASCAR event (NBC). USA
TODAY's Rudy Martzke reports that NBC "outbid" ABC for the
race, and puts the three-year deal at $12-15M. The race
"will be televised against NFL games on Fox and CBS." NBC
Sports President Ken Schanzer: "Our view is that this is an
economically feasible deal" (USA TODAY, 9/23). In
Charlotte, David Poole, who puts the deal at $15M, writes
that NBC affils had "long urged" the network to join CBS,
ABC, ESPN and TNN in broadcasting NASCAR events. Schanzer:
"When we made the decision not to be involved with football,
we started looking in earnest at a series of other
properties. First on our list always was NASCAR racing."
Schanzer said that NBC plans to bid on future races as they
become available (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 9/23). Schanzer: "Our
hope is this isn't the last of these (NASCAR)
announcements." In Miami, Barry Jackson puts the deal at
$5M per year. ESPN will carry the race this year (MIAMI
HERALD, 9/23). CNN/SI's Vince Cellini reported that NBC is
"hoping NASCAR can help replace football" with the new
three-year deal ("Sports Tonight," CNN, 9/22).
