FOX SPORTS Renews with NASCAR, Retaining The Daytona 500, The Truck Series and Other Aspects

Today it was announced that NASCAR and FOX Sports Media Group reached a new agreement that involves a multi-year contract with implications affecting a multi-platform agreement.

Fox Sports still has two years left on their present telecast agreement with NASCAR, but that didn't stop them from planning ahead and inking a new multi-year deal with NASCAR that will exist through to the year 2022.

Talk About Planning Ahead!

{Despite the grumblings of some fans about the FOX coverage of the sport, you have to step back and admire the faith that the network just put into the sport of NASCAR.  That's good money and good coverage/exposure for NASCAR, despite some opinions of the setup.}

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This new contract locks up a few existing scenarios and presents a few new ones.

The new contract takes effect in 2015 and ensures that FOX Sports Media Group (FSMG) :

"Retains the television rights to 13 consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races beginning each year with the prestigious Daytona 500. In addition, FSMG retains the rights to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, the Daytona Shootout, the Duel at Daytona, the entire NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season and practice and qualifying for both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races that FSMG broadcasts."

{Does their retention of Truck Series races mean that even though SPEED Channel is going away, that the new Fox Sports Channel will still cover the series?  Seems that way on the surface.}

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The newest aspect of the contract is the digital angle.  In the new contract, FSMG has the rights to stream...

"All FSMG races, along with pre- and post-race coverage, race highlights and in-progress race highlights to events it televises."

{As noted in the press release, the digital contract was made possible when NASCAR reacquired their own rights back of their digital platform content from Turner.}

Here are the highlighted points from the press release that's still sizzling in my inbox:

• An eight-year term from 2015 to 2022. The current FSMG/NASCAR rights agreement began in 2006 and runs through 2014
• Thirteen (13) consecutive points races beginning with the Daytona 500 on FOX
• The Daytona Shootout; Duel at Daytona; NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race; and Daytona 500 Qualifying
• Full NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season
• Right to televise all practice and qualifying sessions for FSMG races
• Ability to re-telecast races on a FOX network and via video-on-demand (VOD) for 24 hours
• Right to ancillary programming including, but not limited to, a nightly NASCAR news and information show as well as weekend at-track shows
• Right to NASCAR branded pre- and post-race shows
• Extensive digital rights beginning in 2013, including:
• TV Everywhere – live digital distribution of all races FSMG has rights to broadcast
• Pre- and post-race coverage
• Race highlights
• In-progress race highlights
• Replays of FOX-televised races

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Don't forget, the other networks have yet to even think about going into renewal negotiations with NASCAR and there's been some noise in the wind that there could be some changes down the road for those networks.  And those changes could possibly mean more coverage of the sport from FOX's perspective.  We'll have to sit and wait until ABC/ESPN and TNT finalize their own contracts with NASCAR and how it all pans out.

What do you folks think about this new renewal?