- Prime Video’s run of five races starts with the Coca-Cola 600 on 25th May
- Nascar executives see the streaming platform as a way to to engage younger audiences
Nascar president Steve Phelps believes the upcoming run of Cup Series races on Prime Video will draw comparable viewership to cable.
This will be the first time that Cup Series races will be available exclusively through a streaming platform, which makes this uncharted territory for the championship. However, Phelps told Sports Business Journal (SBJ) that his “expectation is it’s going to drive viewership that’s probably at least as good as what we’d see on cable”.
Last weekend’s race at Phoenix averaged 2.82 million viewers on FS1, making it the most-watched Cup Series race on cable since 2021. During the 2024 season, the championship averaged 2.41 million viewers through seven races on FS1.
This sets the benchmark for how Phelps expects the series to perform, with Prime Video’s run of five races starting with the Coca-Cola 600 on 25th May, which traditionally draws good viewership at a time when Nascar has been susceptible to a mid-season lull.
Prime Video has begun airing select practice and qualifying sessions as part of the new media rights deal that has broken up the weekend action between broadcasters, but no viewership information for these sessions has been released.
SBJ reports that Nascar executives believe a significant portion of the fanbase are existing Prime subscribers, but it remains to be seen if this will translate into consistent viewership – especially as this will be a new frontier for both fans and Nascar itself.
“Streaming is important,” said Phelps. “It’s here to stay and we think that Amazon Prime is a terrific partner for us to be with, and you’re kind of defined by the company you keep, right? The NFL, NBA, ourself – that’s a good adjacency for us.”
“I think they’re going to bring a fresh approach which they certainly did with Thursday Night Football and I think it will drive a slightly younger audience for us, which that’s not a bad thing either.
“Nascar fans find where the distribution is and go there, and so I don’t know the exact percentage as of today but the number is significant in terms of the percentage of our race fans who are members of Amazon Prime so my expectation is they will find it and be entertained and will have high production value associated with it and promotion as well.”
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For context, NFL Thursday Night Football games on Prime Video averaged 13.2 million viewers in 2024, compared to 11.86 million the year prior, equating to an increase of 11 per cent year-over-year (YoY).
While Nascar won’t get close to matching those results, it will be encouraged by Prime Video’s performance as audiences transition from linear to streaming.
To promote the start of this new partnership, Prime Video will title sponsor Chase Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports car at three races, starting with Talladega on 27th April.
Prime Video will also be able to approach the live broadcast in a different way to traditional linear networks as it doesn’t face the same pressures to wrap up the event. Alex Strand, senior coordinating producer for Prime Video, told SBJ that this makes the platform “uniquely positioned” to have an extended post-race show.
Brian Herbst, Nascar’s executive vice president and chief media and revenue officer, added that the races on Prime Video will be Nielsen-rated and emphasised the importance of diversifying Nascar’s audience through this new deal.
“What you get from a streaming partner is promotion for your sport on big, over-the-top platforms that cater to a younger audience,” he said. “Frankly, it’s a way to speak to an audience that is a little bit less familiar with Nascar.
“We have been an anchor property for cable and linear TV for a really, really long time, but as content creation consumption patterns started to change, we needed to make sure that we put our product in front of some of those new audiences.”
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