Commercials and NASCAR have surely not worked well in tandem. While the untimely pop-up of a commercial has annoyed the fandom time and again, it only got worse during the Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway. NBC Sports unexpectedly faced the fans’ wrath after missing out on keeping the race broadcast on at certain major events in the race.

It is no secret how important a partner NBC Sports has been to NASCAR. While good viewership numbers remain crucial for NASCAR to succeed, the broadcaster’s role has become vital more than ever. Luckily for the sport, NBC Sports has come up with a creative idea that could do wonders if executed correctly.

How has NBC Sports come to the NASCAR fans’ aid?

The rain-hampered race at Michigan International Speedway witnessed plenty of unexpected incidents. It had it all with Corey LaJoie going airborne, Kyle Larson triggering a massive wreck, and Joey Logano facing tire issues. While the cars took a massive hit in different ways, the way Joey Logano struggled came as surprising.

The postponed NASCAR FireKeepers Casino 400 saw a caution flag waved on the 109th lap. Logano suffered a flat tire as debris from the tire rolled up the track. Interestingly, just before the Team Penske driver struggled, Todd Gilliland came to the pit road with a flat right-rear tire. Unfortunately, A.J. Allmendinger was also one of the drivers suffering a similar fate.

With three drivers suffering issues with the tire, questions were raised about the sole tire supplier, Goodyear. While fans showed their anger towards the billion-dollar tire company, they were more annoyed with NBC Sports. The FireKeepers Casino 400 broadcaster’s timing of the commercials deprived the fans of a look at the tire incidents which understandably enraged them.

While FOX Sports normally faces such criticism, NBC Sports received the fans’ bashing this time around. However, NBC Sports’ latest experiment is expected to change the fans’ perspective in this regard. As per Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, they are planning to show no full-screen commercials during green-flag action at three races this season.

NBC Sports is committing to showing split-screen commercials during the races at Daytona, Atlanta, and Talladega. With these high-speed tracks, it is interesting to see how it impacts the viewership. This “NASCAR non-stop format” move comes with an agenda to discourage viewers from changing the channel or leaving the room with the ongoing track action being broadcasted.

In fact, NBC Sports will soon get appropriate feedback on this idea during the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona this weekend. However, they can take the positives with how the fans reacted to this innovative approach.

Fans sing in favor of NBC Sports’ commercial-free NASCAR format

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Without a doubt, the backlash NBC Sports faced at Michigan was intense. Given how viewership issues have lately marred the sport, it is very essential to keep the fans happy. While criticism came flying on Monday, the NASCAR Non-Stop format seems to have amazed the fans. Many reacted quite positively to Adam Stern’s post revealing this report.

One fan gave the perfect caption to the news with his comment. He said, “Dreams do come true.” On the other hand, one fan finally saw some respite from the broadcasting issues, “One of the biggest NASCAR broadcasting W’s I’ve seen in a long time.”

NASCAR earlier this year, announced a major change in its broadcasting partners starting with the 2025 season.

1. Amazon Prime Video will broadcast most of the NASCAR Cup Series races via streaming.
2. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD): Includes networks like TNT and streaming service Max, which will air a significant portion of the Cup Series races.
3. FOX Sports: Continues to be a partner but with a reduced number of races compared to the previous deal.

Interestingly, one fan explained how the current full-screen commercials were hampering the viewership. He said, “I would bet that side x side commercials actually more effective than full screen commercials. When we get a side x side ad, I still watch and focus on the tv. The second we go to full screen ads, I look at my phone or get up and go do something else for a couple minutes.” This comment totally explains how NBC Sports’ new idea is bound to see some improvement in viewership.

Remember the last Daytona 500 race? One of the most important races on the schedule was exceeded by 12 laps, making it 212 from 200, and saw a trending hashtag on social media by #Commercial500 as it had a total of 14 commercial {35 minutes} breaks under green. Definitely, fans don’t want that!

However, another fan understood how yellow flags/cautions are related to ads, and wrote, “I love it! I’ve said this for a while. I’m more likely to keep watching the screen if you do side by side. Otherwise, I’m on my phone.” On the other hand, one fan thanked NBC for listening to the fans’ voices. He said, “This is awesome. It’s great that NBC executives are listening to the concerns and complaints that their NASCAR fans have.”

However, one fan pointed out how this impressive idea may come with a challenge. He said, “How is that going to work? NBC is obligated to give the local affiliates a certain number of local breaks per hour. Those could fall during green flag racing.” 

While it is interesting to see how NBC Sports goes about its business with this commercial-free idea. Most certainly, we’ll come to know more about it at Daytona this weekend.