What NASCAR Got RIGHT And WRONG With the Broadcast Deal

IndyCar just wrapped up its season with a TV ratings win, posting its best numbers since 2008, while NASCAR finds itself in a complicated spot with its new broadcast deal. The balance between cable, streaming, and over-the-air TV has never been more critical, especially with cord cutting accelerating and the NFL flexing its unmatched dominance by streaming games for free on YouTube. NASCAR’s Cup Series sits spread across Fox, NBC, TNT, and Prime, while the Xfinity Series thrives on the CW, and Trucks continue to languish on FS1. The numbers tell one story, but scheduling, competition, and presentation tell another, and the future of NASCAR’s reach may depend on whether they’ve learned from IndyCar’s approach.

• IndyCar’s finale surged 136% from last year and avoided heavy NFL and NASCAR competition. Can NASCAR learn the value of consistent, smart scheduling?
• NASCAR’s Cup deal is cable-heavy, with 24 of 38 races locked there, even as cable households keep vanishing. How sustainable is that through 2031?
• The CW’s investment in Xfinity has turned into a ratings win, with nearly every race topping a million viewers — should Cup races move that direction?
• Prime brought NASCAR its youngest audience in a decade, but Fox and TNT’s struggles loom large — will streaming eventually carry the series?

The stakes are only growing as NASCAR navigates six more years under its current deal. If cable keeps shrinking, and if the NFL and IndyCar continue out-maneuvering them with scheduling and accessibility, NASCAR could be facing an uphill fight for eyeballs. The Xfinity Series shows what’s possible when you lock in a dedicated partner, but can the Cup Series pull off the same transformation?

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