The clock has started ticking on NASCAR‘s new media rights deal, as the racing circuit started talks to renew its deals with Fox and NBC.

The two incumbent broadcasters are in the middle of an exclusive negotiating window that runs through March, according to several sources. The most optimistic timeline has NASCAR completing its deals by the fall.

Sources say Amazon is likely to be the most aggressive streamer to pursue NASCAR rights. It appears unlikely that NASCAR would carve out a package of Cup Series races for a streaming company, given the need to provide the broadest reach for sponsors aligned with those races and the teams that compete in them.

The sport‘s TV performance, however, could hurt NASCAR‘s leverage. Viewership for Cup Series races is down more than 40% since NASCAR‘s new deals with Fox and NBC started in 2015. Those figures have stabilized over the last two years.

Sports Business Journal

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