Dale Earnhardt Jr. Leaves NBC for Amazon Prime, Warner Bros. Discovery: Sources

The biggest name in NASCAR is moving on.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will leave NBC and head to new franchises Amazon Prime Video and Warner Bros. Television. Discovery Sports, according to sources familiar with his decision. The athlete.

Earnhardt is expected to take a hiatus this season and then resume his broadcasting career in 2025 when WBD Sports and Amazon begin their coverage.

The action numbers give WBD Sports and Amazon instant credibility as they begin their series. Each will have five races per season. The WBD Sports races will be broadcast on TNT, streamed on Max and contain a Bleacher Report component. NASCAR complements WBD Sports' robust NBA, NCAA, MLB and NHL programming schedule.

Amazon's Prime Video subscription service already features exclusive NFL games on Thursday nights, and is a leading contender to add the NBA when the league decides its partners in its upcoming negotiations.

Earnhardt informed NBC of his decision last week, according to sources familiar with the conversations. While Earnhardt is expected to take a year off, he has the flexibility to strike another deal with one of two broadcast partners, Fox and NBC. There are no substantive talks at this stage with either of them.

“Dale Earnhardt Jr. is beloved in the world of NASCAR and has made many contributions to NBC Sports, from his work as an analyst on our NASCAR coverage to his experiences as a reporter at major events like the Indianapolis 500, the Kentucky Derby, and the Supercars,” an NBC Sports spokesperson said. “Olympic”. The athlete. “We thank Dale and wish him the best for the future.”

Earnhardt said on his podcast in early February that he hopes to stay with NBC, even as he admitted he doesn't have a contract through 2024.

“I absolutely love being in the broadcast booth and want to continue doing that,” Earnhardt said he said on his podcast“Dell Junior Download.” “We've had some great conversations with all of our NASCAR television partners. Betty and my baby are at NBC, and I'd love to have them back. So we'll see where it goes.”

Earnhardt, 49, joined NBC in 2018 immediately after retiring from racing.

NASCAR has moved to four partners in its latest television contracts, remaining with existing NBC and Fox, which will continue to broadcast 14 races in 2025 to go along with WBD Sports and Amazon's combined 10. The overall NASCAR deals are seven years and are valued at $7.70. Billion dollars in total. The current season remains exclusively on Fox and NBC.

In 2025, Amazon and WBD Sports will join the coverage and both will work to build around Earnhardt.

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(Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)