NASCAR officials "announced a sweeping new" TV contract
"with almost all new faces" for its Winston Cup and Busch
series beginning in the 2001 season, according to Godwin
Kelly of the DAYTONA NEWS-JOURNAL. NBC/Turner signed a six-
year contract, while Fox/FX/FSN inked an eight-year package.
As part of the agreement, scheduled to begin in 2001, all
races scheduled from February through part of July will be
broadcast via Fox/FX/FSN, while NBC and Turner will carry
races from the middle of July to November. The Daytona 500
will be carried by Fox on odd years, while NBC will carry it
on even years. NASCAR execs said that while a schedule is
not final, beginning in 2001, about 70% of Winston Cup/Busch
races will be on network TV (DAYTONA NEWS-JOURNAL, 11/12).
In Charlotte, David Poole cites sources who put the value of
the deals at $2.8B over the next six years, for an average
of $467M per year, behind only the NFL and NBA TV rights
packages. NASCAR Senior VP Brian France said that money
wasn't the only issue, as the deals give NASCAR "huge
promotional platforms." Speedway Motorsports President
Humpy Wheeler: "This puts us into the true mainstream of
national sports. We will be one of the big three now"
(CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 11/12). In '85, NASCAR received just
$3M for its TV rights, and in '99, total TV revenues were
estimated at $100M for 34 events (AP, 11/12). NBC Sports
Chair Dick Ebersol: "We're about big events and brand names.
NASCAR has made itself one of the major brands in American
sports" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/12). Ebersol: "NASCAR is the
great frontier in American sports. They have had more
growth, more continuous growth, than any other sport in the
90s and we're lucky to jump in right now." France: "There
will be an unparalleled effort to promote the sport of
NASCAR like you've never experienced" (CNNfn, 11/11). Fox
Sports TV Group Chair David Hill: "[NASCAR] is a model for
how a sport should be run and promoted" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/12).
In Long Beach, Bob Keisser reports that the deal signifies
that "the packaging concept for the sport is truly as
important as cash." France: "We are reorganizing the
packages and creating a national franchise at the same time.
That was our goal. I think we now have a promotional
platform as good as any in sports" (PRESS TELEGRAM, 11/12).
MORE DETAILS OF THE DEAL: Most media outlets put the
deals at $400M annually, with NASCAR receiving $200M for
each half of its season. USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand
reports that Fox, with its eight-year deal, paid "at least"
$15M more annually than NBC/Turner paid for its package.
NBC and Turner will "share nearly everything" in its joint
venture, including announcers (USA TODAY, 11/12). In
Boston, Howard Manly reports that Fox and FX hold the option
to extend the contract from six to eight years. That option
could "push the value" of the deal to "as much as" $3B or
"more." Manly: "Whether the deal is worth a possible $3
billion for the networks remains to be seen." But data
unveiled yesterday showed that NASCAR is the "second-most"
watched sports programming behind the NFL. Winston Cup
racing is "also the second-highest-rated programming among
males" and beats the NBA by 27% among men 18-34, 41% among
men 18-49, and 57% among men 25-54 (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/12).
PROGRAMMING NEWS: In Dallas, Tony Fabrizio reports that
each of the networks has committed to a pre-race show for
every Winston Cup event. Fox has "promised heavy NASCAR
promotion during its fall football coverage, and NBC had
committed to the same during its spring NBA telecasts"
(DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 11/12). In Richmond, Rea McLeroy
reports that foreign and Internet rights, along with
ancillary programs, "have not been finalized." NASCAR will
own the rights to all race footage. The "live NASCAR on-
track footage will be openly available for 'news purposes,'
which France said includes shows" such as ESPN's
"SportsCenter." Also, network officials said yesterday that
NASCAR would have "no editorial control over the content of
the programs" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 11/12).
ESPN WIDE OPEN? The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Stephen
Battaglio reports that NASCAR incumbents CBS and TNN offered
$130M per year for the deal, while the ABC/ESPN bid came in
"slightly lower" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 11/12). VARIETY's
Michael Schneider: "Sources said the NASCAR deal came down
to network scheduling" (VARIETY 11/12). In Houston, David
Barron reports that CBS was "boxed in by its embarrassment
of early-season riches," including the PGA Tour, but the
"decision not to keep NASCAR's 20-year relationship with
ESPN/ESPN2 is tougher to fathom." The "only clue" is that
Fox Sports may be able to provide more localized, week-long
coverage of Winston Cup events via its RSNs. Barron: "That
local big-event intensity is something even ESPN cannot
match on a week-to-week basis" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 11/12).
While NASCAR wanted more races on the broadcast networks,
Richard Sandomir writes that ABC/ESPN was "more intent on
preserving the current order, in which ESPN gets most of the
races" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/12). In Boston, Jim Baker calls it a
"major blow" to ABC and ESPN, "less so to CBS." ESPN and
ESPN2 showed 500 hours of auto racing programming this year
and "now may lose baseball as well." Baker adds that Fox
"needed auto racing to round out its schedule" (BOSTON
HERALD, 11/12). USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand writes that
ESPN "needed NASCAR's TV tonnage." Media buyer Paul
Schulman: "The only thing I can figure is ABC/ESPN is ready
to make a major move on the college basketball package and
thinks that's more important" (USA TODAY, 11/12). ESPN
Senior VP/Programming John Wildhack said the network will
continue to cover NASCAR via "SportsCenter" and its "RPM
2Night" news show (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 11/12). CNBC's
Maria Bartiromo reported that analysts say that CBS will now
"aggressively seek renewal" of its NCAA tournament deal
(CNBC, 11/11). In St. Petersburg, Ernest Hooper writes that
the "big winners clearly are NASCAR, track owners and
drivers." The "big losers" are ABC/ESPN and CBS/TNN (ST.
PETERSBURG TIMES, 11/12). NBC's Jay Leno, on NBC's
acquisition: "Nice to see something crash and burn on this
network besides a sitcom once and a while" (NBC, 11/11).
NO BITTERNESS: Brian France is interviewed in today's
DAYTONA NEWS-JOURNAL and is asked if he has any concerns
about the 2000 season since the networks are lame ducks.
France: "They've been good to us. Nobody is an enemy. This
is going to work" (DAYTONA NEWS-JOURNAL, 11/12). In Winston-
Salem, Mike Mulhern writes that "loyalty, long a NASCAR
hallmark and preached by Bill France himself for years, may
be officially dead, at least when it comes into conflict
with deals as big as this one" (W-S JOURNAL, 11/12).
CLOSING STOCKS: Closing stocks Thursday: Time Warner
closed at 68 9/16, up 7/8; GE closed unchanged at 134; Fox
Entertainment closed at 21, up 1/8; CBS finished at 51
15/16, up 2 7/16; Walt Disney closed at 24 5/16, up 7/16;
Int'l Speedway was down 3/8 to close at 51 7/8; Dover Downs
ended the day at 16 13/16, off 1/8; Speedway Motorsports
closed at 32 1/16, down 1 13/16. This morning, Bear Stearns
downgraded SMI to neutral from attractive and shares are
down 4 7/8 today, or 15%, to 27 3/16, as of 12:00pm ET.
