After Losing Dale Earnhardt Jr, NBC’s Grip on NASCAR Loosens Further as They Make a Paradigm Shift

The 2024 NASCAR season may have been fruitful for teams on track, but one of the sport’s primary broadcasters seems to be in quite the fix. First, rumors of veteran NBC analyst Rick Allen bidding farewell to the sport after the Olympics sent the community into a frenzy, and then the departure of Dale Earnhardt Jr, with rumors of the veteran switching sides to Amazon.

The downfall of NBC as a NASCAR broadcaster seems inevitable, especially after the sport announced that The CW would be stepping into their $115 million Xfinity Series deal earlier than anticipated. Though the opportunity to get in on the action early for the new broadcaster couldn’t be any better, NBC Sports may also be willingly pulling away from our beloved sport.

NASCAR insider unravels NBC’s hidden intentions behind the CW’s premature takeover

The NASCAR community was caught off guard by a shocking announcement coming from the CW camp yesterday. For the last eight races of the season, NBC broadcasters Rick Allen, Steve Letarte, and Jeff Burton will be discussing the action on the CW instead! That’s right, fans can expect to tune into the CW for the regular season finale at Bristol Motor Speedway and for the following playoff races. It seems like the CW is eager to get behind the wheel of the Xfinity Series earlier than anticipated, preparing themselves for next year.

Naturally, some fans are confused about why NBC Sports is allowing the CW to take over so early. That said, popular insider Eric Estepp believes that this move also makes perfect sense for NBC to go through with. He shared in his latest video, “Big move by the CW and it’s the latest in a series of kind of odd moves for NBC. NBC is voluntarily ending their Xfinity Series contract a few months early? I guess NBC is already on the way out at least when it comes to Xfinity Series, so why not focus your attention elsewhere?”

Following his sources, Estepp believes that NBC has a contract with the Big Ten of college football to broadcast some games this fall. Owing to the boom in the sport’s popularity amongst American teenagers and adults alike, NBC Sports is doing the same thing as the CW: trying to get a foot in the door to their new adventure as early as possible.

Eric Estepp added, “I know these major football conferences are expanding, the playoffs are expanding. The college football fans in my life that I talk to are both very excited and also very anxious about this upcoming season so regardless, ratings will be huge. NBC wanting to shift their Saturday focus to one of their new partners makes a ton of sense.”

It would make a lot of sense for NBC Sports to be loosening their grip on the Xfinity Series intentionally. Meanwhile, the CW is wasting no time turning the NASCAR community to their side.

The CW’s takeover could be a win-win

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For NBC Sports, their departure from the world of NASCAR couldn’t have been fast-tracked further if it wasn’t for the CW’s intent to enter their new market early. In what can only be considered a mutually beneficial arrangement, both parties can now focus on exploring their new areas of interest. But when it comes to the CW, they are also ensuring that the fans aren’t blindsided by the sudden takeover.

And turns out, that the takeover will not only benefit fans but also team owners. Reflecting on the CW’s long-term plan, Estepp shared; “Being on broadcast television should result in larger viewership for the Xfinity Series which I’m sure for many of the team owners over there is very exciting. And I think it’s very encouraging that one of NASCAR’s new broadcast partners is so enthusiastic about this series.”

The insider revealed his intuition of some sort of deal being struck between CW and NBC, which allowed for the takeover to happen earlier than expected. Still, the CW’s proactive strategy gave Estepp great confidence. He concluded, “The CW is excited about NASCAR, this is a great way to warm up fans to this new channel. Get them used to the CW so that when their $115 million deal kicks off in February, fans are ready to go.”

After taking a look at how the deal between NASCAR and CW is taking shape, can NBC Sports, too, make the most of their Saturday air time to shape their college football aspirations?