What Does The CW’s Deal With ESPN Mean For NASCAR?
What’s Happening? The CW and ESPN will come together to make ESPN Unlimited the streaming home to CW Sports, including the…
A new deal between The CW and ESPN is making it harder for NASCAR fans to watch practice and qualifying sessions for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
The CW and ESPN announced a new partnership Wednesday morning that will bring The CW’s massive lineup of sports to ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streaming service ESPN Unlimited.
As part of this deal, NASCAR fans will finally get something they have begged for over the past year: a streaming option to watch the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series broadcasts on The CW.
Since the network took over exclusive rights to broadcasts in 2025, there have been no options for streaming races on The CW beyond a subscription to Live TV Streaming platforms like YouTube TV.
The CW App, which was the exclusive home to select live in-car cameras and practice and qualifying sessions, was not an option, even if you logged in with a provider.
Now, for $39.99 a month, NASCAR fans can stream the OAP Series and the entire ESPN catalog and networks on ESPN Unlimited, expanding the series reach beyond just the races on The CW.
What’s Happening? The CW and ESPN will come together to make ESPN Unlimited the streaming home to CW Sports, including the…
While this does not affect the ability to watch races on The CW through your usual means, such as antenna, a smart device like a Tablo TV, or your Live TV Streaming platform of choice, this new deal will affect practice and qualifying.
When The CW is added to ESPN Unlimited, practice and qualifying will no longer be free to watch on The CW App; instead, you will need an ESPN Unlimited account to watch those sessions.
Though this, again, does not affect watching races, fans are disappointed that even more NASCAR content, especially something as low-profile as practice and qualifying, is behind a paywall.
Furthermore, the price of ESPN Unlimited has been a sticking point for NASCAR fans, who say that while The CW has a large network of over-the-air stations to watch the OAP Series for free, the streaming options still limit the series overall.
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.