Motorsports

Prime Video audience ‘better than’ NASCAR projected

Prime Video exceeded expectations for many within the NASCAR industry, including NASCAR itself, in terms of audience figures for its coverage stint of Cup Series races. “What actually came in for 2025 was better than what we had projected internally when we modeled out the rights deal back in 2023,” Brian Herbst, NASCAR EVP, chief […]

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Prime Video exceeded expectations for many within the NASCAR industry, including NASCAR itself, in terms of audience figures for its coverage stint of Cup Series races.

“What actually came in for 2025 was better than what we had projected internally when we modeled out the rights deal back in 2023,” Brian Herbst, NASCAR EVP, chief media and revenue officer, told RACER. “We expected there to be a baseline year one that we could grow from in years two, three, and four. When you think about what Amazon did with the NFL, they started a little bit lower and then grew over the last two or three years. So, the fact that we could essentially mirror a cable number in year one of the rights deal was above expectations.”

Prime Video broadcast five consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races that began at the end of May with the Coca-Cola 600. It was the highest-rated broadcast of the stretch with an average of 2.7 million viewers. Nashville Superspeedway, a week later, also had over 2 million viewers, as did Mexico City. The races at Michigan and Pocono were under the 2 million viewer mark.

However, in its five races, Prime Video averaged 2.1 million viewers per minute, which is in line with the 2024 Cup Series cable races (2.18 million). Overall, the ratings for those races on Prime Video this year were down compared to their counterparts in 2024. However, NASCAR gained a younger audience during its stint on Prime Video, with a median age of 56.8 across the five races.

That is nearly six full years younger than the 2024 average, which was 62.4 years. Because of the “wins” in other areas and seeing the NFL model of growth on a streaming network, NASCAR is not concerned about the overall number being down.

“We wanted to get a baseline, which we now have,” Herbst said. “So, 2.14 million viewers for year one, and we would expect as more and more NASCAR fans subscribe to Prime Video, and take advantage of everything Prime Video has to offer. Whether it’s NASCAR races or original content or some of our NASCAR documentaries and content, or if they’re just subscribing to get food and consumer packages, those numbers will continue to grow over the course of the agreement.”

NASCAR entered into a new seven-year media rights deal with its partners that began this season. Prime Video and TNT Sports were added to the fold on the Cup Series side alongside existing partners Fox Sports and NBC Sports.

Prime Video received widespread praise from industry members and fans for its presentation of the sport. One of the most significant aspects for viewers was an in-depth post-race show that allowed for analysis, as well as multiple driver interviews. The post-race set even brought drivers to the desk for a more extended sit-down interview.

Adam Alexander, Steve Letarte, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. carried the race broadcast. Danielle Trotta, Carl Edwards, and Corey LaJoie were the pre- and post-race hosts. All broadcasts were conducted live from the racetrack.

Prime may have been new, but employed familiar names and faces in its coverage. James Gilbert/Getty Images

Herbst praised how Prime Video approached its partnership with NASCAR. There was a continued push for promotion on the Amazon website, which put the sport in front of those either looking for it or those who visited the site to shop. Then there was Prime Video’s decision to lead into its coverage with a four-part documentary on Dale Earnhardt. The first episodes dropped before the Coca-Cola 600 race weekend, which Herbst saw as a nice nod to the nostalgia and history of the sport that carried into parts of the weekend, with Coca-Cola 600 memories.

“I think they had a really smart plan put together on how to launch NASCAR on a unique and new platform,” Herbst said of Prime Video. “They did a nice job of talking to the audience that has been a fan of the sport for decades and decades, while also putting some unique twists and Amazon bells and whistles on the broadcast like the post-race going, usually, over an hour after the race and telling all the different stories of the drivers. That averaged a million viewers for the post-race for a lot of these different shows.

“It became a really entertaining program for our fans, and I think Amazon went above and beyond both on the marketing and the promotional side to get this right and to graduate our fans from linear TV to the streaming opportunity.”

Prime Video took the baton from FOX Sports, which carried the first 12 points-paying races plus The Clash and the All-Star Race. FOX Sports saw virtually flat ratings from 2024 but were up 7% in the 18-49 range.

TNT Sports has the reins for the next five weeks. The company entered the sport for the first time in 1983. The only rights cycle TNT Sports has not been involved with for NASCAR was from 2015-24.

Although their broadcast stint begins this weekend at EchoPark Speedway, TNT Sports re-integrated itself in NASCAR early. The in-car driver cameras and radios were moved exclusively to Max at the beginning of the year. Max featured the product on its homepage during some of its busiest traffic, such as viewers looking for the popular “White Lotus” series.

“We’ve been working with them the entire year; the ramp-up of their efforts will start to peak during their portion of the season,” Herbst said. “There will be a couple more bells and whistles on the driver cam product. Obviously, the in-season challenge has ramped up and will launch this weekend. Then getting a nice five-race run featuring a very familiar booth in Adam Alexander, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt JR., who are off the great run on the Amazon side.

“There is a built-in familiarity and continuity there that I think fans will appreciate.”



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