The CW Network has inked a deal to begin offering NASCAR’s Xfinity Series stock car races, starting in 2025.
The agreement, first reported by the Sports Business Journal, will see the CW Network air around 33 Xfinity Series races on broadcast television each year. The deal is valued at around $115 million and lasts for seven years.
“CW’s leadership shared a compelling vision for cultivating the next generation of NASCAR talent by bringing the NASCAR Xfinity Series exclusively to broadcast television, and we are thrilled for the opportunity to partner with them,” Brian Herbst, the senior vice president of media and productions at NASCAR, said in a statement emailed to The Deskon Friday. “With more than one million viewers tuning in each week to see NASCAR’s future stars battle some of its biggest names at our most legendary tracks, NASCAR Xfinity Series consistently delivers the moments that excite current fans and create new fans of our great sport.”
NASCAR will produce the races in partnership with the CW Network, with the broadcaster hiring its own on-air talent for race coverage, the Sports Business Journal said.
“Landing the NASCAR Xfinity Series is a game changer for the CW and our CW Sports division, and represents another important building block in our programming strategy,” Dennis Miller, the president of the CW Network, said in a statement. “Live sports are the most watched television content, and with the CW’s national reach, moving NASCAR Xfinity Series to the CW will transform and elevate the viewing experience for the series and its fans.”
It is the latest sports deal to come together for the CW Network since local broadcaster Nexstar Media Group acquired a controlling stake in the business last year. Since then, Nexstar and the CW Network have signed lucrative sports deals at a quick pace, to include picking up telecast rights to LIV Golf, ACC college sports and a revival of “Inside the NFL,” which was canceled by Paramount Global earlier this year.
The CW Network has near-national distribution on broadcast television, though Nexstar is set to lose a handful of major-market affiliates after minority owner Paramount decided not to renew its programming agreement earlier this year. Nexstar has found a home for CW Network programming in Tampa, San Francisco and Philadelphia, but is still looking for a new affiliate in other markets like Seattle, Sacramento and Atlanta.
