NASCAR races will be broadcast under the ESPN banner for the first time in 12 years as a means for fans to access content and races off-air. 

CW, locked in as the broadcaster for all NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series races through 2031, has agreed with ESPN to simulcast races on the ESPN App.

This move is aimed at garnering a wider audience and providing access to race streams for those who may not have CW’s on-air channels. Anyone who has an ESPN subscription will be able to watch races live on the ESPN app. 

While races are currently being simulcast on the CW App along with its usual television broadcast, from 2027 onwards the ESPN App will be the platform for NOAPS race streaming online while CW will continue to broadcast races for television. 

According to NASCAR, beyond the live races, “more than 800 Hours of Live CW Sports events air live on broadcast and stream exclusively within the ESPN App for all ESPN Unlimited plan subscribers.”

This move solves problems for those who either don’t have CW on their television or those who watch races on the go. Now any device that has the ESPN App on it can be used to watch the Auto Parts Series live. 

Beyond the races, now NASCAR fans can access several hours of content in a comprehensive library that will be available on ESPN, with the first race broadcast on the App set to be the upcoming race in Iowa on August 8. 

Third time lucky for ESPN?

This isn’t the first time ESPN will broadcast a NASCAR race. While this time, ESPN returns with a tie-up that will see the ESPN App become a new digital home for all CW Sports content, ESPN’s tryst with NASCAR runs long. 

The NASCAR-ESPN relationship goes way back to 1981 when ESPN aired the race at Rockingham Speedway as the first in a 9-year-long collaboration. 

This lasted till 2000, when NASCAR moved to centralized multi-billion-dollar broadcast packages with the likes of FOX, NBC, and TNT from 2001. 

After a 7-year hiatus, NASCAR racing resumed on ESPN with the broadcast of the second half of the Cup season, and the Nationwide Series was secured through a new TV deal. 

While this run lasted for a while, it was cut short in 2014 when NASCAR’s broadcasting rights were up for renewal. While the likes of FOX and NBC agreed to pay a massive rights fee, ESPN wasn’t willing to do the same. 

With the current deal in place, it seems that ESPN will not bear the weight of the rights fee solely, with CW being the primary broadcaster. But this should help in easing the relationship between ESPN and NASCAR as the fan favourite returns to broadcast NOAPS races on its App. 

What do you make of the ESPN-CW deal? Let us know. 

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason