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According to their website, WITL-FM 100.7 is bringing a new season of NASCAR racing to Mid-Michigan radio listeners, as an affiliate of the Performance Racing Network (PRN). WITL's sister station, WVFN-AM 730, had previously been an affiliate of the Motor Racing Network (MRN). WITL can certainly deliver a dedicated target audience for NASCAR coverage, making this deal a good matchup.
NASCAR rights on the radio are becoming a big business. Look at what Sirius paid for the satellite rights- $107.5 million! Obviously there is mass interest (no matter what the stereotypers say) and having race coverage on a big signal makes a lot of sense to me. NASCAR does seem like a logical fit for 3 radio formats: country, rock, and sports.
As much as NASCAR is stereotyped, WITL made a very big move here.
I was shot down last year because of a post I made in the Buzzboard about NASCAR and their stereotypical fans. After I thought about it for a while, I realized that I was wrong. NASCAR is exploding in popularity right now, so why not capitalize on it?