NASCAR negotiators "have been trying to put the
squeeze" on ABC/ESPN in talks for a new TV deal the past few
weeks by "hinting" that the new deal "might be a CBS-NBC
package," with CBS getting the first half of the season, and
NBC the last half, according to Mike Mulhern of the Winston-
Salem JOURNAL. But industry sources now say that NASCAR is
"going back to its original three-network concept, pushing
NBC again for the fall package," CBS for the spring, and ABC
to pick up from late spring through early fall. Mulhern
questioned if money is "the sole driving issue" in NASCAR's
negotiations, or "is quality of telecast at all an issue."
If quality is a factor, Mulhern wrote that ESPN have the
edge. Lowe's Motor Speedway President Humpy Wheeler: "We
may all pontificate about such things, but money is the end
result, the bottom line" (Winston-Salem JOURNAL, 10/11).
THE FOREIGN PRESS: Wheeler added that "the foreign
media presents a unique challenge" in the TV talks.
Wheeler: "We used to get a check for $7,500 or $10,000 for
foreign rights and say, 'Hey, this is pretty good. They're
showing it in Uganda and Northern Ireland.' But now there
is SkySport and EuroSport, their ESPN, changes that. We're
starting to get some interest over there, and that means
dollars. We've just got to present this sport in its best
light now" (Mike Mulhern, Winston-Salem JOURNAL, 10/11).
