ESPN Says "NASCAR Now" Cancellation Unrelated To Expiring Broadcast Partnership

ESPN has “cancelled ‘NASCAR Now,’” which launched in ’07 and was the first program the net “devoted strictly to NASCAR,” according to Lee Spencer of MOTORSPORT.com. The daily show has “been on hiatus” since the FIFA World Cup started. ESPN Associate Dir of Communications Andy Hall said the net “just decided to make a change in the programming schedule.” ESPN “will not be an official broadcast partner” of NASCAR beyond ‘14, as Fox and NBC take over the entire schedule. But Hall said the move was “totally unrelated to our telecast of NASCAR races.” Meanwhile, Spencer noted former "NASCAR Now" host Nicole Briscoe and other staffers will have “other opportunities within the company” (MOTORSPORT.com, 6/23).