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Turner Sports Acquires NASCAR’s Internet Rights NASCAR Online to be Produced by Turner Sports
Turner Sports and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced today that Turner Sports has acquired all of NASCAR's Internet rights and will become the exclusive producer of the official NASCAR Web site. The multi-year agreement was announced today by President and Chief Operating Officer of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Steve Heyer, Turner Sports President Mark Lazarus and NASCAR Senior Vice President Brian France. Turner Sports will re-launch NASCAR Online's official Web site (NASCAR.com) on Jan. 1, 2001. The new site will continue to offer NASCAR fans total access to an array of content and features they currently enjoy, including important news and notes from all of NASCAR's drivers, teams and tracks, audio feeds, Garage Cam, official up-to-the-minute point standings, chats with NASCAR personalities and the popular live timing and scoring. In addition, in the near future, Turner Sports will debut exciting new features, such as branded content, videostreaming of race highlights, expanded garage cameras and photo galleries, archives of past races, live and taped audio, NASCAR fantasy leagues and columns by some of NASCAR's most highly regarded television analysts. NASCAR fans will also have access to the most extensive line of NASCAR merchandise and collectibles available anywhere through the NASCAR Online Store. Through this unique agreement, Turner Sports and NASCAR will work together to provide unprecedented editorial coverage of the sport, enabling NASCAR fans to find original, hard breaking news, colorful anecdotes and insider access to the always-churning rumor mill, as well as traditional NASCAR features and stories. Turner Sports has also acquired NASCAR Online's exclusive Internet video rights, which will enhance the viewer's experience during races by complementing network telecasts with live timing, real-time statistics, scoring and in-car cameras. "An acquisition of this scale can stand alone in and of itself as a tremendously successful venture," said Heyer. "But when you consider the success that the site has already had, and you integrate the TBS Superstation television schedule and the resources that Time Warner can put behind this endeavor, you have what we believe can only be described as a ground-breaking agreement." "Today's complex environment demands creative, integrated media solutions. Along with NASCAR's television partners, we perceive this to be a landmark deal on which all future online sports negotiations will be based," said Lazarus. "By combining the resources of our successful companies, we will create the most comprehensive and technologically advanced sports site on the Web for racing fans - the definitive site for NASCAR fans."
"Today's unprecedented agreement is something our NASCAR staff has been working on for many months," said France. "There is no question this strategic partnership with Turner Sports is the perfect complement to the new NASCAR broadcast television package starting in 2001. NASCAR fans will not only be able to watch more live television coverage of NASCAR events, but through this agreement, they will also be able to log onto the Internet at their convenience for complete NASCAR coverage. We truly believe NASCAR Online can become the most-visited site among all sports properties." Turner Sports will base its NASCAR Online staff in Atlanta, with additional personnel in Charlotte and at the tracks, giving them the ability to break news stories on the site around the clock. NASCAR Online will also provide users with some of the industry's best information resources. In November 1999, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. and NBC Sports reached a landmark agreement with NASCAR on a six-year contract giving each the networks the exclusive television rights to broadcast the second half of the Winston Cup and Busch racing seasons. In this first-of-its-kind deal, TBS Superstation and NBC will work in equal partnership on production, promotion and sales efforts.
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