NASCAR TV Deal?

BobbyFord

BobbyFord

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NASCAR could announce as early as this week a TV rights deal that would see Fox broadcast the first half of the Nextel Cup season and TNT and ESPN/ABC sharing the back half starting in 2007, Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal reports. The sanctioning body could get as much as $550 million a year from TV rights, a 38% increase over the estimated $400 million a year it gets under the current arrangement with Fox, NBC and TNT. The story says industry insiders say the ABC/ESPN commitment alone is expected to be about $270 million a year. TNT and ESPN are expected to air six races each, reporter Scott Warfield writes, and ABC will air the final 11 races, including all 10 events [and Indy] in the Chase For The Nextel Cup.(NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter), so that would be 36 total races: ESPN gets 6, TNT gets 6, ABC gets 11, so Fox/FX would get 13 [plus Bud Shootout and Nextel Challenge].(11-29-2005)
 
Have to wonder how long its going to be before the drivers start to wise up and demand more money, and go on strike just like every other sport.........
 
Why shouldn't this sport have a union? All the major sports have them, it is just a matter of time before the drivers organize, unless they are given a slice of the pie. Nascar is making huge amounts of money compared to what the drivers are making, it is only fair that they get what is comparable to the other major sports.
 
well..put it this way. Tony Schumacher got the NHRA Top Fuel championship and only got like 50 or 80 thousand bucks..whereas tony got like a million and change...
 
This isn't a new idea nor one that hasn't been discussed here. Drivers have tried to organize before, but that was back in '69. I just don't think that the guys are united enough to form a union but even if they were, how many people would be a union member anyway. Let's lump all the drivers from all three of the top series together and we're still not talking about anything more than about 150 or so drivers. So they strike, and what then happens? While I know, because we've talked about this before, there are those people who would not watch the sport because their "best" list of drivers aren't on the track, the field would eventually be filled with what is called "field fillers". While I wouldn't want to see the top dogs sit out a race, I'd still watch any and all of the races simply because I'm a race fan. I watch many races where I don't have any idea who is the best and still enjoy the races. But I think the bigger problem quite simply is trying to get these guys unionized. We are talking about some pretty big egos and while those in the stick and ball sports might even have a bigger ego, there is also a whole lot more members in those unions. These guys have for years cried for franchising to no avail and we're talking about the guys who made NASCAR what it is today. If those guys couldn't muster up enough support to get something like that done, who really thinks these newbies can get unionized?
 
J agree Buckster. AND what if all the crews, team members, etc. who were not considered management were to organize? Let's even include ALL motorsports. The numbers may be right, but the diversity of the sport as it is would not lend itself to the governing body of a union. Will Hispanic drivers or crews be paid the same as American drivers? How about Canadians, Germans, Italians, Brazilians, South Africans, Australians and Japanese?

Granted, racing IS a business, but I can just see the Sponsors heading for the hills as fast as they can IF the drivers were to organize.
JMO
 
Did the sponsors head for the hills when the NFL and MLB formed unions? NO. If the drivers and the crews all joined the union there would be plenty of solidarity. It all comes down to money, like anything else it is a matter of greed these days. I think that most of the old school drivers are happy with what they have, but the new guys coming into the sport in all 3 divisions are the ones that will change the sport if it is there for the changing. The drivers are going to reach a point IMO, when they will ALL be unhappy with what they have, just a matter of time.
 
You could be right, but I just don't think that will happen. First off, there are two different factions that the "union" would have to deal with. The owners of course where the contracts are made and then there is the almighty NASCAR where all the monies come from. I just don't see all the parties coming together.
 
Well... without drivers neither one of them have anything.
 
And who would this union have its contract with?

Every driver, team and crewmember has different deals with each other and their individual sponsors.

How could all of these seperate deals be brought together under one contract?
They have nothing at all to do with NASCAR.

Of course the other obvious question is, where else would these folks race and make the amount of money they are currently receiving for playing the same game most of them paid out of their own pockets to play before they made the big time?
 
So what is the purpose of these "managers" all the drivers have? Isn't it their job to get the best deals for their drivers they can? And they work for each driver individually,so exactly what purpose would a union serve these guys? I guess the biggest question is, just because a few of you think it such a great idea, WTF makes you even begin to think the drivers want a union?
 
Eagle1 said:
WTF makes you even begin to think the drivers want a union?
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My sentiments exactly. The stick and ball sports unions lump all the guys together because other than the positions they play, they are all more or less the same type of player. I can see where some people might believe that in motorsports, you could say the same thing and that the driver is like a quarterback or pitcher who might be worth a lot more than say the front tire changer, but with the pit crew positions changing all the time, I don't think that you will find many drivers who want to join up with them in a union. Something that makes more sense though would be the pit crews organizing. They would then be dealing with the various teams such as what the NFL, MLB and NBA do, but in a much different way. I can see this happening not too far into the future, but I really don't see it getting very far. I just don't think that popularity of NASCAR is going to stay as strong as it is right now for more than ten years down the road and it could take that long for the crews to organize. As for the drivers, I just don't see it.

A side note here that might enter into the equation. Larry MacReynolds told a story of the time I believe that it was Mike Skinner wrecked his car. The wrecker service, while hauling the car back to the garage, was crimping the hood of the car and Larry was having a fit over this. He was very livid about how those guys were handling his car and made sure that those in power heard about it. Soon, Bill France called Larry on the carpet. Larry was ready to let Bill have it, but before he could say anything, Bill looked at him and asked him how he liked being able to afford that big motorcoach he has. Larry got the point quickly and after a short chat, he left. The point is, as some have already said, it's NASCAR that is responsible for all these guys making the kind of money they are getting.
 
As much as I am against many of the actions of established unions, I can still see where a union with ONE speaker to address NASCAR might be of some use.
As an example the NASCAR car of the future. As it stands now very little if anything can be said by anyone that would effect the outcome of the CAR. However with a spokesperson representing everyone EXCEPT track owners speaking to NASCAR many things might be accomplished.
Might be confrontational! But no one in the sport itself could be held responsible for the actions. NASCAR officials would be more apt to bend to the will of a union than the words of one or a few owners.
Betsy
 
I think one fact most fans overlook, or fail to realize, is that NASCAR officials, the team owners, crewchiefs and drivers are in constant communication on whatever issues might arise.

And that communication runs both ways.

Don't forget that these folks "live" with each other for the biggest part of every year.

Without that communication, there would be complete and utter chaos; the whole program would have collapsed upon itself years ago instead of continuing to grow and make money for all involved.
 
All it takes is 1 driver to set the precedent, just like in baseball when Rollie Fingers, Catfish Hunter, and i can't remember the other player ...bucked the system. What makes all of you think Nascar is SO POWERFUL that they will squish a union ? It is the drivers that make Nascar the money, without them Nascar has nothing. As much as some people think Nascar has absolute power, they don't. I honestly feel that once most of the older drivers are out of Nascar and the tide changes, there will be a push for a driver-team oriented union. Look what has happened this year with KB and JM, that situation shows that the drivers want more power to influence their contracts and who they drive for. IMO Nascar is dreading what is down the road, of course they will do everything in their power not to have a UNION. History has shown when there is an Employer that has the power there is always an Employee that wants part of the pie. The drivers are making out ok right now, but compared to other sports they are not making that much. Sure they have Motorcoaches and some have Jets, but what driver is making 20 million/year like Manny Ramirez? Call me crazy, i don't really care, i think it will happen in the next 5 years. :cool:
 
Mopardh9 said:
All it takes is 1 driver to set the precedent, just like in baseball when Rollie Fingers, Catfish Hunter, and i can't remember the other player ...bucked the system. What makes all of you think Nascar is SO POWERFUL that they will squish a union ? It is the drivers that make Nascar the money, without them Nascar has nothing. As much as some people think Nascar has absolute power, they don't. I honestly feel that once most of the older drivers are out of Nascar and the tide changes, there will be a push for a driver-team oriented union. Look what has happened this year with KB and JM, that situation shows that the drivers want more power to influence their contracts and who they drive for. IMO Nascar is dreading what is down the road, of course they will do everything in their power not to have a UNION. History has shown when there is an Employer that has the power there is always an Employee that wants part of the pie. The drivers are making out ok right now, but compared to other sports they are not making that much. Sure they have Motorcoaches and some have Jets, but what driver is making 20 million/year like Manny Ramirez? Call me crazy, i don't really care, i think it will happen in the next 5 years. :cool:
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Well again you express how YOU think they should have a union, but fail to point to one piece of evidence that the drivers actually want one.

Do you even understand what "Sub-contractors" are?

You sure have a terrible misconception of who has the power. ROFLMAO!!!

With out NASCAR all you have is several thousand short tracks and several hundred different sanctioning bodies across the country that pay diddly squat for prize money and are known by very few people.

Let me ask you a question or 2;
Without NASCAR would any or many of you even know who Dale Jr, Dale Sr, Jimmie J., Greg Biffle JG or Tony Stewart was?

Would there still be a NASCAR if those guys never came along? There was BEFORE, and there will be after.

What many of you refuse to comprehend is that NASCAR is a trade name to a privately owned business, a very successful one, but still privately owned.

These drivers are multi millionaires because of NASCAR, not the other way around. Without NASCAR most of them would be working full time jobs, scratching by best they could to race on weekends.

You don't think that if openings came available that there aren't a couple hundred racers across the country that could step in and put on exciting racing each week? You don't think they would attrack and bring their own fan base just as the drivers today have? I'll bet there's a couple hundred thousand or more that would love that opportunity and out of that number NASCAR would attract 25 or 30 top notch drivers and the show would never miss a beat. Drivers have come and drivers have gone but NASCAR has continued to grow over the years. So IMO your thoughts on "who" has the power are truly misconstrued.
 
Just another fine example of how easy it is to run right out and start a competing series against an existing one.

New Sprint Car League Folds
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Pete Pistone
Managing Editor

Posted Friday, December 2, 2005


Where will Steve Kinser run in 2006?


There's one less open wheel racing war in motorsports.

The proposed National SprintCar League has collapsed less than three months after the rival to the World of Outlaws was announced among much fanfare and a connection to the NASCAR world with the Petty Family and Tony Stewart.

Plans for the NSL were unveiled during the September NASCAR weekend at Dover International Speedway with the promise of an alternative series for winged sprint cars.

Thirteen teams, including 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser as well as Danny Lasoski, signed contracts to jump to the new series, which had Stewart and the Richard Petty Driving Experience at the helm.

Promises of a national sponsor, live television contract and a schedule were never met and on Friday the NSL officially ceased operations.

Meanwhile, the Outlaws have gone forward with the 2006 edition of its "Mean 15," a group of drivers contracted to compete on the entire circuit. Reports indicate Dion Hindi, Jac Haudenschild, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and four-time All Star Circuit of Champions titlist Chad Kemenah also will be announced in the coming days.

That leaves the 13 defectors on the outside looking in in terms of guaranteed Outlaws money in 2006. Indications the group will run a variety of races with different sanctioning bodies in the "old fashioned outlaws style" have been reported.
Click to expand...
 
Good Grief!!!!! I quite agree with boB and Eagle!!!! Our NASCAR drivers drive cars that carry all kinds of sponsor logos and that's great advertising for them. They PAY to have thier companies name put on those cars. Show me a football player, basketball player, or baseball player that has 50 or so sponsor logos all over their uniforns, LOL The suggestion of a "union" for NASCAR drivers is just plain silly!!!! Why should these drivers try to kill the goose that keeps laying the golden eggs for them????
Could you imagine a dog or cat having a "union" to back them in dog and cat shows to assure that they were judged fairly????? I am ROTFLMBO!!!!!
 
:swords: Yeh ok Eagle who died and made you an expert???? I'm not trying to come off as a know it all on this subject. I do know however ...and i'll say it again...because some people just don't get the concept. WHO makes the sport what it is? Answer the drivers, that's who. Nascar does not drive the cars, Nascar does not risk their lives every week, Nascar does not build the cars, Nascar does not go into a turn at 205mph wondering if they will make it. Sure if Nascar was to decide that the present drivers were not to their liking, that they were making too much noise, not following the picture nascar set down for them, Nascar could in fact say CYA. What makes you think that the drivers in the lesser ranks would be so happy to jump up and face the same scenario. They would in turn see what the previous drivers were up against. So the drivers have a bunch of logos on their fire suits...big deal! Other professional athletes have the same. NFL players have Reebok on their uniforms, college players have Nike, what is the difference? There is none each sponsor contributes $$ to the corresponding sport. You cite lack of evidence that drivers are unhappy, well aren't they always complaining about track conditions, tire issues, contract issues( again i use KB and JM as an example), and the ever present plate issue. If you can not see that these drivers are the slightest unhappy with some issues Nascar sets down then you are blind. Does this mean that they will form a Union tomorrow... no, but it does bring up the definite possibility based on what other major sports have done in the past 25 years. IMO it is not a far fetched idea. :swords: :cheers:
 
What makes you think that the drivers in the lesser ranks would be so happy to jump up and face the same scenario. They would in turn see what the previous drivers were up against.
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What makes me think drivers in the lower series would be so happy to jump up and face the same scenerio?????
You're joking right??
As an example, how many drivers applied to get in JR's gong show for 1 available seat? As another small example, have you ever heard a Busch North, GN West or Elite Series, ARCA or USAR Pro cup driver interviewed that didn't say he was hoping to get noticed and get a chance for a Truck or Busch ride in NASCAR?
I guess you think they would say "NO Thank you" to a million dollar a year deal and just keep on struggling with the peanuts they get where they're at?
Show me 1, just 1 series that guys are leaving NASCAR to go to because of more money or better racing conditions?
Funny, it appears to me the lines are coming from USAC, IRL, CCWS, ARCA, USAR, GN West, BGN, Elite Series etc etc. TO NASCAR.
I believe the FACTS blow your theory completely out of the water, so don't hold your breath waiting.

Yes they would see wouldn't they? Multi millionaires, million dollar motorhomes, airplanes, made famous by being in NASCAR.

You still don't get it, NASCAR is NOT a sport, auto racing is the sport, NASCAR is a trade name for a sanctioning body of auto racing. NASCAR dictates the rules "IF" you want to compete within it's series, but no one is forcing you to either participate as a driver, team owner, crew member or a fan but "IF" you do, they make the rules.

So, just list 1 sanctioning body for auto racing in N. America that the drivers make more money, become more famous, have more rights and say in the opporation of the governing body. Can you do that?

Yeh ok Eagle who died and made an expert???? I'm not trying to come off as a know it all on this subject.
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You know I don't understand the need here for sarcastic name calling.
What makes me an expert? I don't know, I didn't think I was. I just pointed out obveous things that can be seen by any onlooker if they opened their eyes.
Who disputed that the drivers put on the show? My point is and was NASCAR was here before any of these drivers were even a gleem in their daddy's eyes, and will still be here long after they are gone.
Name me any one driver that had such a huge following and had such notoriety that they came to NASCAR and made NASCAR famous?
Everyone of these guys are race car drivers, just race car drivers and if (eample) Matt K stayed in Wisconson who here would have heard of him? Or Greg Biffle in WA, or JJ in El Cajon CA?
So did THEY make NASCAR famous and worth billions of dollars? NO!
NASCAR made them famous and multi millionaires.
 
Look if you can't take a spirited debate ...don't debate. Don't get all pissed off, all i'm saying is that given the way the sport is headed the drivers need an edge...more power. Yeh sure all the drivers in the lesser ranks would give their left arm to get into the ELITE Cup division. When they get there the perception of wealth changes, it is all relative to what is around you. When a minor league baseball player comes up to the big leagues his perception of wealth changes as soon as he gets that first huge contract. Same way in Nascar. Nascar is a part of the sport of auto racing, if you want to argue that it isn't fine, that is not the issue here. The issue is the rights of the drivers, they don't have many now do they? The owners and the sanctioning body of Nascar( France & Helton) pretty much DICTATE what the drivers can do or can't do. The drivers do not have a voice that is strong enough to stand up to Nascar. So what if Nascar is the biggest paying auto racing format, i never said it wasn't. Eagle you said it yourself in the previous post, Nascar makes the rules. Why can't the drivers have more say in that? Because they don't have the power to do so and the only way they will have that power is to have solidarity.
 
So the season is over. No races to watch. And what happens? You guys have nothing better to do then argue. And you know what? It makes no damn difference what any of you think is really going on. NASCAR will live on and on they way NASCAR decides.

So just relax.
 
Yeh no kidding, i didn't know that our opinions don't matter to Nascar, geesh, can't have any fun around here without some people getting ticked off.
 
Kat2220, At least it's been interesting and funny!! Everyone has their own opinions and in this Blessed country, it's everyone's right to voice that opinion. I personally am anti-union from experience, but I do understand that some need what they feel is a 'strong' backer. That's fine.

It is my personal belief that the NASCAR drivers do have a voice in some decisions and they are happy without union representation. They could shoot themselves in the foot 'with' unionizing. LOL
Oh, well, JMHO as usual.

Why don't ya all have a very Merry Christmas????? :katts: :beerbang:
 
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