NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps has admitted that a short-term drop in viewership had been baked into their planning around the sport's new $7.7bn TV deal, which began this year.
Lowered ratings have been in the headlines periodically throughout 2025, with Cup Series races dropping an average of 14 per cent of their viewership from the previous year.
Phelps was speaking at the annual State of the Sport press conference ahead of Championship Weekend, and explained that projections had forecast a viewership loss of 14-15 per cent thanks to the practicalities of more races going to streaming and cable.
Xfinity Series ratings, on the other hand, have increased markedly with the new deal, while the Truck Series has remained level thanks to its channel distribution staying essentially the same.
NASCAR ratings 'exactly as predicted'
Phelps explained to the media: "When the season started, because of the distribution changes to be less broadcast heavy and more cable heavy and streaming, we knew we were going to have a reset. We had projected that that reset and told everyone in our industry that reset would be between 14% and 15% in Cup.
"We also told them we probably have a double-digit increase in Xfinity. Then Trucks would be where Trucks are because the distribution stayed the same primarily on FS1 and some FOX.
"Right now as we sit, our ratings in Cup are down 14%, exactly what we predicted. I think the FOX portion of the season was really strong in terms of how they did from a ratings perspective."
He finished his answer simply, saying: "Again, are we concerned about where the ratings are? No, it’s exactly where we thought they’d be."
