NBC makes major change to sports coverage

NBC Sports isn’t cutting away from NASCAR coverage when three races are under a green flag.

Per a Wednesday announcement , NBC’s coverage of the upcoming races from Daytona (August 24), Atlanta (September 8), and Talladega (October 6) will only feature split-screen ads during all green flag laps, in coverage the network is dubbing NASCAR Nonstop .

Beginning with this weekend’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Aug. 24 on NBC) – and continuing with the Quaker State 400 available at Walmart at Atlanta (Sept. 8 on USA Network) and the YellaWood 500 at Talladega (Oct. 6 on NBC) – NBC Sports will only utilize side-by-side breaks during green flag action, delivering live coverage of every green flag lap.

“We always strive to deliver the best broadcast for the NASCAR viewers at home,” said Jeff Behnke, NBC Sports’ vice president of motorsports production. “NBC Sports’ ‘NASCAR Nonstop’ gives the fans what they want for these pivotal races at Daytona, Atlanta and Talladega – live coverage of every green flag lap of superspeedway racing.”

Split-screen ads have been growing in popularity over the years, and they really don’t seem to bother viewers as much as cutaway ad breaks do. Breaking away for one 30-second ad and then coming back has always been annoying to watch, and it’s far more palatable to cut away for a 30-second ad on part of your screen while also keeping an eye on the field.

This seems like a pretty good thing for everyone, though there will inevitably be some complaints. If feedback is positive for this presentation during these three races, it wouldn’t be a surprise if NBC continued this strategy next season in the first year of NASCAR’s latest media rights package.

[ NBC Sports ]

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