NASCAR media mix drew younger fans, O’Donnell said
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 14, 2026
NASCAR media mix
NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said the sport’s growth depended on a broad media mix that kept it in front of as many viewers as possible. He backed a barbell approach that gave NASCAR wide reach across different platforms instead of pushing the sport all the way into streaming right away. O’Donnell said the wider distribution helped fans find NASCAR in more than one place, and that flexibility mattered as the sport tried to broaden its audience. He pointed to NASCAR’s current rights partners, Fox, NBC, USA Network, TNT Sports and Amazon Prime Video, as the backbone of that reach. He also said Fox remained a strong partner and that The CW was the home for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Taken together, those outlets gave NASCAR a presence across broadcast, cable and streaming, which fit O’Donnell’s view that the sport should stay visible wherever fans already spent their time.
Younger fans
O’Donnell said broader media reach was already helping NASCAR connect with younger fans. He said the sport wanted to be present on platforms like YouTube, where younger viewers might be watching, and he said Amazon could help NASCAR pull in that audience as well. The message was simple: NASCAR wanted to meet fans where they were instead of waiting for them to come to one channel. O’Donnell said the wider mix gave supporters multiple ways to find the sport, and he framed that as part of a larger effort to build the audience. He also said NASCAR had gained momentum after several difficult years, a sign the organization saw its current media setup as part of a broader turnaround. The push for younger fans fit that view. NASCAR was trying to widen the top of its fan base by showing up in more places and making the sport easier to discover. O’Donnell’s comments suggested the league saw media access as more than a business issue. It was also a pathway to the next generation of viewers, with digital platforms playing a bigger role in that effort.
Future rights
O’Donnell also looked ahead to the next phase of NASCAR’s media future. He said the planned Skydance combination of TNT Sports and CBS Sports could create new exposure for NASCAR and help the sport reach fans across streaming, cable and network television. He said he spoke with Skydance chair and CEO David Ellison about future media rights, a sign NASCAR was already thinking beyond its current deals. That potential combination mattered because O’Donnell wanted broad access, not a single-channel solution. He said the sport should keep moving in a way that preserved reach while still adapting to the changing media landscape. He also said the upcoming release of “Days of Thunder 2” was another way to attract new fans, giving NASCAR another pop-culture entry point beyond race broadcasts. O’Donnell, who was named NASCAR CEO in April and is the first NASCAR CEO outside the France family, used his CNBC “Squawk Box” appearance on Tuesday to underline that message. NASCAR, he said, had to keep expanding its audience, and the best way to do that was with more visibility, more partners and more places for fans to find the sport.
