NASCAR.com goes 1-on-1 with Steve Phelps to talk about the 2025 broadcast agreement and where the sport is headed in that seven-year term.
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00:00 Alex, we were here in Nashville, Tennessee, and we normally know this week to be crowning
00:04 champions, which we are still going to do, but I'm here with the president of NASCAR,
00:07 Steve Phelps.
00:08 This is a historic day for the sport.
00:11 We have officially announced our broadcasting rights and the partners that will be signing
00:15 on for the 2025 season, and seven years right now is the deal with those guys.
00:19 So let's break down this deal, what it means for NASCAR and how excited the industry should
00:25 be for the future of the sport.
00:26 Yeah, I think, listen, I hope the industry is as excited as I am because it is a historic
00:31 day.
00:32 And I think if you look at kind of two components of what this is, actually probably three,
00:38 you look at the distribution itself, so it'll be a mix of broadcast cable, direct-to-consumer
00:44 streaming.
00:45 You know, obviously financials, financials are important for the industry as a whole.
00:50 But I think if you also look at, and the guys talked about it today with the different media
00:56 partners, you know, Fox, Amazon, Warner Brothers Discovery, and NBC, the amount of cross-promotion
01:01 that they're going to do and the amount of additional marketing that these groups are
01:06 going to bring to our great sport, which is, to me, is super exciting.
01:11 And everyone in this industry should be excited about what this is going to mean for us in
01:15 '25.
01:16 And I think there are things even in '24 that I think we're going to start to get some muscle
01:20 memory around that will help us continue the growth of the sport.
01:24 We mentioned those partners, but we know that every decision that the partners make, that
01:28 the sport makes, that NASCAR and the league makes, is all impacting one person and taking
01:33 into account the NASCAR fan.
01:35 That is the core of what we are trying to accomplish, bringing the most exciting racing
01:40 to our race fans.
01:41 So for the excitement level for them and what they can look forward to, what opportunities
01:45 does this allow fans to not only watch our races, but to really have a part in our racing
01:50 action over the coming years?
01:51 Yeah, I think what you're going to see, Alex, we're going to continue to make sure we have
01:55 schedule variation.
01:57 I think it's a promise that we make to our race fans, I think to our distribution partners,
02:03 both our existing partners, Fox and NBC, as well as our new partners, Amazon and WBD.
02:09 I think there's some real opportunities to create additional excitement, again, whether
02:13 they're new race markets or potential format things.
02:20 And I think hearing how excited that they are about our sport is really uplifting.
02:27 And I think, again, I think the fans are going to be the big beneficiary.
02:31 We're celebrating 2023, but we're already looking ahead to 2024.
02:35 You mentioned that that will kind of see some of those basic changes for what maybe 2025
02:39 will look like.
02:40 But we'll be with the same broadcasting partners for the next year.
02:42 So the excitement level for 2024 and what can we build on for this year for you?
02:47 Yeah, I mean, 2024 is obviously a bridge year.
02:51 And I don't want to shortchange what Fox and NBC do for our sport.
02:57 We're very lucky to have world-class media partners like Fox and NBC and how they bring
03:04 the racing action to our fans.
03:07 But I think there's going to be some things when I talk about Amazon and Warner Bros.
03:11 Discovery, whether you're talking about docu-series or documentaries that an Amazon can do for
03:17 us or you're talking about Bleacher Report or House of Highlights that reach a much younger
03:24 fan base than we might have done.
03:27 All those things are going to start to happen in 2024.
03:31 And by the time we get to 2025 and beyond, I think it's, you know, all that muscle memory
03:36 and excitement level is going to be there.
03:38 Well, thank you, Steve.
03:39 We're excited for the future and excited for the sport.
03:41 Thank you so much, Alex.
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