BREAKING: Scheduled NASCAR meeting boycotted by all team owners

NASCAR has consistently expressed assurances that the recent media discussions will go well over the past few months. However, it appears such is not the case at this time. Owners of NASCAR Cup Series teams boycotted their regularly scheduled Wednesday meeting with NASCAR officials on April 5.

Numerous sources claim that the teams boycotted the meeting as they are dissatisfied with how the future allocation of broadcast income is progressing. After the 2024 season, NASCAR's existing television deal expires, and talks to replace it are expected to start in earnest later this year.

NASCAR announced in a statement that it was “committed" to open and productive dialogue on a regular basis with all industry stakeholders.

"We remain committed to continuing discussions in the spirit of collaboration and with the shared goal of growing our sport for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

Currently, 25% of the profits from NASCAR's broadcast deal with Fox and NBC go to the teams. Teams seek a larger share of broadcast money to secure their survival in a racing environment with rising costs, declining TV viewership, and declining sponsorship income.

The biggest winners of the broadcasting contract are NASCAR's tracks. 65% of the proceeds go to the racetracks, while 10% goes to NASCAR. Numerous of the tracks on NASCAR's schedule are owned by the company as well.

Team owners want Jim France and Lesa France Kennedy to be more involved in the revenue discussions, according to the Associated Press. Jim has taken over as NASCAR's president since his nephew Brian left the team, which was created by the France family. Brian's sister Lesa has also played a prominent role in NASCAR during her career.

The teams' requests for a bigger cut of the television deal's profits also coincide with the second season of NASCAR's brand-new Cup Series car. Prior to the 2022 season, NASCAR introduced cars to assist teams in cutting long-term expenses. Many teams had to spend a sizable sum upfront to transfer their fleets over from the prior car model.

With the stated objectives of saving teams money and promoting parity throughout NASCAR's top level, the current Cup Series car is mostly constructed with components from single-source suppliers.

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Dispute over NASCAR's ongoing media rights negotiations

Each year, NASCAR generates around $660,000,000 in income. A tiny portion of that does go to the teams, though. Problems arise when teams rely on sponsors for 60–80% of their income. There is adequate money, and the negotiating team wants to be clear about that.

Even yet, the decrease in viewership is hurting NASCAR's negotiating position with its partners. As it is comparable to the concept other sports use, the notion makes sense from the standpoint of a competitor and viewer. However, it is unclear how NASCAR could implement it.

But going forward, it's something to pay attention to. This will be discussed until the arrangement is finalized.