It should be noted that if ESPN did bid for the rights then according to the article NASCAR would have been looking for a 30 percent bump over the $270 million per year they are paying currently. That would have been $351 million per year or $3.5 billion over the 10-year life of the new contract. NBC will be paying $4.4 billion. What will NBC be getting for that extra $89 million per year?
Well for starters they also get the 6 races per year that Turner was carrying. You could look at it that NBC payed just $15 million per race per year for those races which isn't a bad deal but maybe more important is all the extra stuff that was included in the deal by NASCAR. NBC will be getting the following programming - most of which I expect will be broadcast on the NBC Sports Network:
- NASCAR practice and qualifying sessions
- The K and N Series
- The Whelen Modified Tour
- The Toyota (Mexico) Series
- The Hall of Fame Induction ceremony
- The end of year awards banquets
That's a lot of programming for the NBC Sports Network. When you couple that programming at night with NHL hockey games plus the Dan Patrick Show in the morning - all of a sudden the NBC Sports Network becomes a very attractive channel for the average sports fan (especially any with even cursory NASCAR or NHL interests).
This was a good deal for NBC and positions the NBC Sports Network channel very well in case a la carte programming becomes a reality.
