| NASCAR on NBC | |
| |
|---|---|
| Series | NASCAR Cup Series (1999-2006, 2015-present) Xfinity Series (2001–2006, 2015-present) |
| Networks | NBC (1999–2006, 2015–present) NBCSN (2015-2021) CNBC (2006 post-race; practice/qualifying 2015; overflow race 2016-present) USA Network (2016, 2022–present) Peacock (2022–present) |
| Announcers | Rick Allen Jeff Burton Steve Letarte Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Krista Voda Kyle Petty Dale Jarrett Rutledge Wood Dave Burns Kelli Stavast Marty Snider Parker Kligerman Dillon Welch |
| Debut | 1999 Pennzoil 400 Presented by Kmart |
| Latest race | 2019 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race |
| Website | http://www.nbcsports.com/nascar |
NASCAR on NBC is the brand name of NASCAR coverage on NBCUniversal-owned networks NBC, NBCSN (until 2021), CNBC, and USA Network. The networks have covered the final twenty races of the Monster Energy Cup Series and the final nineteen races of the Xfinity Series since 2015. NBC properties also covered the Cup Series and Xfinity Series in conjunction with TNT from 2001 to 2006, with NBC also airing the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead in 1999.
History[]
2001–2006: NBC, TNT[]
On November 11, 1999, NASCAR announced a new centralized, television deal between NBC and Fox for Nextel Cup Series (now Monster Energy Cup Series) and Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) telecasts from 2001 to 2006. Fox and its cable network FX would broadcast the first half of the season, while NBC would broadcast the second half. Fox and NBC would swap coverage of the Daytona 500 and Pepsi 400 (now Coke Zero Sugar 400), with Fox broadcasting the 500 in odd-numbered years, while NBC covered the 500 in even-numbered years. NBC partnered with Turner to assist NBC in broadcasting races. Turner originally planned to put NASCAR races on TBS, which had aired races since 1983 but moved the races to TNT prior to the start of the season. NBC would broadcast the majority of Cup events, while TNT would broadcast the majority of Xfinity events. The qualifying and practice sessions would mainly air on Comcast SportsNet and TNT, with a few, select sessions of Fox-owned Speed. When it came time to negotiate a new deal in 2006, NBC declined to renew its package. TNT, however, decided to split from NBC, taking most of NBC's crew with it, and obtained rights to six mid-season races, including the Coke Zero Sugar 400, through 2014. ESPN picked up rights to the remaining NBC races, while Fox renewed its contract.
2015–present: NBC, NBCSN, USA and Peacock[]
On July 23, 2013, NBC announced a new television deal with NASCAR to return broadcasting events in 2015 after an eight-year absence. NBC would obtain rights to the final 20 Monster Energy Cup and final 19 Xfinity races. Instead of hooking back up with former partner TNT, which lost rights, as a result, NBC chose its cable sports network NBCSN, which became a part of NBC in 2012, as its cable partner. Unlike the 2001-2006 arrangement, NBCSN will cover almost all events, with NBC covering only a select few events. In the Monster Energy Cup Series, NBC will broadcast seven events, while NBCSN will broadcast thirteen. In the Xfinity Series, NBC will broadcast four events, while NBCSN will broadcast fifteen. New under the deal, NBC will pick up exclusive rights to the K&N Pro Series and Whelen Modified Tour series, in addition to NASCAR Hall of Fame telecasts. NBC made its preliminary return in 2014, broadcasting a daily NASCAR-themed show NASCAR America and broadcasting the Mexico Series season opener at Phoenix International Raceway on its Spanish cable network mun2 (now NBC Universo). NBC made its official return in early-2015, with a K&N Pro Series East telecast from New Smyrna Speedway in Florida.
2016: CNBC, USA[]
In 2016, due to NBC's coverage of the Summer Olympics, sister channels CNBC and USA Network aired races. The USA channel broadcast the Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International and a pair of Xfinity Series races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Bristol Motor Speedway, while CNBC solely aired the Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen.
COVID-19 pandemic impact and NBCSN's sign-off[]
In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NBC team initially broadcast all races from the broadcast booth at Charlotte Motor Speedway with only 2-3 pit reporters onsite. Although NBC has a small studio in Charlotte for NASCAR America segments, the studio was deemed too small to be able to do race broadcasts and maintain social distancing. For the Indianapolis race weekend, Mike Tirico hosted from the track; Tirico lives close enough to Indianapolis he was able to drive to the track to host. For the final 5 races of the season (starting with the Charlotte Roval Race) the NBC on-air team resumed travel to race sites.
NASCAR America stopped airing when the pandemic began and has not yet returned to air. NBC has cited other conflicting live events as the reason the program has not returned to air; NBCSN aired the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs throughout the show's timeslot in July and August. The show now airs only as a pre-race & post-race show with some airings on Peacock.
On January 22, 2021, an internal memo sent by NBC Sports president Pete Bevacqua announced that NBCSN would cease operations by the end of the year, and that USA Network would begin "carrying and/or simulcasting certain NBC Sports programming," including the Stanley Cup playoffs and NASCAR races, before NBCSN's shutdown. Peacock, NBCUniversal's new streaming service, will also carry some of the network's former programming starting in 2022. The move was cited by industry analysts as a response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sports and television industries, the acceleration of cord-cutting, as well as formidable competition from rival sports networks such as ESPN and Fox Sports 1 (FS1).
Logos[]
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