NASCAR TV contract not expected to see huge increase

NASCAR officials may have backed off a little on their initial demand, quietly asked for earlier this year, for a 50 percent fee increase from the television rights holders on the next rights package. But in the aftermath of record household ratings for the first half of the season on Fox, those officials expect to be appropriately rewarded by whichever networks win the next package, which will take effect at the start of the 2007 season. “In a market where it has become increasingly difficult for sports to maintain their ratings, NASCAR continues to grow its ratings, and we expect to get a fair value back from our partners for this growth," said Dick Glover, NASCAR's VP of broadcasting and news media.. But the TV partners may not be so quick to open their wallets much wider. “I can understand the NASCAR folks saying, look at the growth, but they also have to look at the reality and economics," said Ed Goren, president of Fox Sports. He believes the current TV partners may have overpaid a bit five years ago under the existing agreement, because advertisers were slow to recognize the value of the Nascar telecasts and brand. Media Week