APRIL 19, 2006

NASCAR pushes for international growth

Although Formula 1 people like to say that NASCAR is only a domestic championship there are increasing signs that the search for more revenue will eventually push the American stock car series to move into the international markets.

Although Formula 1 people like to say that NASCAR is only a domestic championship there are increasing signs that the search for more revenue will eventually push the American stock car series to move into the international markets. A toe-in-the-water exercise in Mexico has not been a great success but NASCAR is still tipped for a move into Canada in the next year or so and the company has just announced a major new deal with ESPN to expand international television distribution of NASCAR. Under the terms of the deal ESPN International will become the exclusive worldwide syndication agent for NASCAR outside of North America, starting in 2007 and will identify broadcast partnerships on a country-by-country basis. ESPN is owned by ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. It has ownership involvement in 29 TV networks outside the United States and broadcasts in 194 countries and territories in 12 different languages.