On Thursday, NBC Universal announced that it would be relaunching NBC Sports Network, after the channel was originally closed down in 2021.

The channel, which first made onto the nation’s airwaves in 1995, will return starting on Monday, Nov. 17, running 24/7 from then on. NBCSN will be available to YouTube TV subscribers first, with Xfinity soon to follow. Further distributors of the channel will be announced down the line. 

According to a press release, the channel will offer various live sporting events, “Giving pay-TV customers a way to enjoy much of NBCUniversal’s extensive sports portfolio that also streams on Peacock.”

However, it seems its catalogue of sports will not include NASCAR as, under the new seven-year $7.7 billion broadcasting rights deal, the sport is under the USA Sports banner, not that of NBC Sports, as per Jeff Gluck (although the final three Playoff races of the 2026 season will be broadcast on NBC, as was revealed on Wednesday).

In a statement, NBCUniversal’s President of Platform Distribution and Partnerships, Matt Schnaars, said, “NBCUniversal delivers the biggest moments in sports, and the new NBC Sports Network gives pay-tv customers a seamless way to enjoy the wide range of sports in our portfolio, adding an important pillar in our linear and streaming strategy.

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“NBCSN is a win across the board – driving value for fans and distributors who prefer an aggregated experience, league and conference partners seeking broad reach, and advertisers targeting engaged sports audiences – while also creating a new monetization path for some of our most premium programming and supporting NBCU’s commitment to serving viewers wherever they watch, whether on Peacock, pay-tv, or both.”

While NASCAR will not feature on NBCSN, it is set to offer a plethora of exciting content, including Monday Night NBA games and the NBA Playoffs, WNBA regular and postseason games, MLB regular-season and some postseason games (yet to be confirmed), and Premier League games, along with various college sports, coverage of the Winter Olympics, golf, cycling, horse racing, and populr talk shows.

Meanwhile, NASCAR will focus on improving upon its 15 percent year-on-year slump in viewership in 2025, leading to a new low on record of 2.5 million on average. While concerning at first, this fell within NASCAR’s projections for its bold new approach to broadcasting, splitting its coverage between four platforms, including Amazon Prime, where five races were streamed for the first time.

“When you look at putting together the right media, the right strategy for our sport – or any property – there has to be some sort of a balance of broadcast cable and a streaming pattern to it,” NASCAR’s Executive Vice President, and Chief Media and Revenue Officer, Brian Herbst, told the Sports Business Journal.

“So we’re able to achieve that, but there’s also the economic realities of making sure that your financial position for the industry came in where we needed to come in. So we’re able to accomplish that in Year 1 of the deal in 2025 and expect to grow from here.”

NASCAR’s 2026 season will begin with The Clash, a non-points-scoring race at Bowman Gray Stadium, on February 1, which will be available to watch on FOX.