International Speedway Corporation (ISC), the owner of Nascar’s race tracks in North America, expects the sales process for the next cycle of domestic rights for the motor-racing series to be finalised by late 2013.
Talks over the next cycle of rights from 2015 are expected to start before the end of the 2012 season in November.
“We think it will be mid- or late-2013 when we’ll have something [signed],” ISC chief financial officer Dan Houser said. “We just hope the broadcasters have some money left. They’ve been spending pretty big. But we continue to feel good about it.”
He added: “We have a lot of content and have a very long season so that bodes well for us. We feel cautiously optimistic where the Nascar rights deal will end up.”
US networks Fox and ABC and cable-television broadcasters ESPN, TNT and Speed Channel currently have eight-year deals for the US rights, from 2007 to 2014.
ISC president John Saunders said that Nascar’s broadcast ratings had been affected by coverage of the Olympics over the summer, but added: “Despite headwinds in ratings… we believe Nascar remains in a strong negotiating position for the next broadcasting media rights agreement.”