NASCAR is interested in bringing some of its races back to CBS following the merger of Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) into Skydance, the sport’s lead executive said at a conference this week.
On Tuesday, NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell affirmed plans to meet with David Berson, the executive overseeing the combined CBS and TNT Sports division, to discuss whether the arrangement could create new distribution opportunities for the racing organization.
TNT Sports currently holds television rights to five NASCAR Cup Series races each summer. The broadcaster recently completed the second season of a seven-year agreement with NASCAR.
“CBS used to be a great partner of ours, Turner has been fantastic, so who knows?” O’Donnell said, according to the website Sports Media Watch. “I think it’s an opportunity for us, especially as you look forward, to keep everybody close, but we’re very happy with the folks we currently have for sure.”
Skydance acquired WBD and folded it into Paramount earlier this month after a federal judge approved a settlement offer that ended an antitrust lawsuit brought by several state attorneys general. NASCAR is looking at ways to boost the visibility of its races beyond cable, and could eventually reach a deal with Skydance to move some events to CBS, marking the first time in nearly three decades that a race has aired on the broadcast network.
But moving live races to CBS could involve amending certain contractual agreements: Right now, NASCAR’s agreement is with WBD, which remains its own business unit within Skydance. It isn’t clear which races NASCAR would want to bring to CBS or whether the sports league would ask for higher or modified fees to do so.
WBD would also need to resolve certain terms with cable and satellite companies, which are predicated in part on distribution fees charged for the privilege of carrying its sports-inclusive networks like TNT, TBS and Tru TV. Paramount handles negotiation of CBS and its cable networks separate, and most cable and satellite contracts set fees based on the availability of certain programming, including sports. Almost all of Paramount and WBD’s contracts with cable and satellite distributors are grandfathered in, though some are up for renegotiation after NASCAR’s season ends in November.
The contracts do not necessarily prohibit programming changes, but they could complicate efforts to move NASCAR races to broadcast television before the current rights agreement expires.
Still, NASCAR could be an attractive addition to CBS’s summer sports schedule, particularly given the network’s existing relationship with the PGA Tour. Those golf tournaments could provide promotional opportunities for NASCAR races scheduled later in the day.
In addition to TNT Sports, NASCAR rights are held by Amazon’s Prime Video, Fox Sports and NBC Sports, with some events available on USA Sports. The CW Network broadcasts NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
