NASCAR is in the second year of a TV rights deal with FOX Sports, Amazon Prime Video, TNT Sports, and NBC Sports. One partner is having buyers remorse, but not for the reasons you might think.
What We Know: Amazon Prime Video owns the rights to five midseason races. TNT Sports also features five races. The remainder are split between FOX Sports having the first half, and NBC Sports having the second half. While Amazon Prime Video and TNT Sports have 10 races between the two, NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said in an interview with Sports Business Journal that the broadcasters wished they had bought more.
What They Said: “We’ve got contractual obligations obviously, but what I can say — I don’t think I’m giving away any trade secrets — is if you talk to Prime, they wish they would have bought more. If you talk to Turner, they wish they would have bought more. That’s a good thing — that’s great for us. I’ve talked to Eric Shanks at Fox, I’ve talked with folks at Amazon, I’ve talked with Turner, and all of them are really happy with what’s going on right now and feel the momentum in the sport. Our job now is to really show that growth.” -NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell
What Remains Unclear: If NASCAR or any of its media partners would be willing to renegotiate the current rights deal. The deal encompasses the 2025 through 2031 seasons.
What It Means: The Amazon Prime Video coverage has been popular with NASCAR fans. Earlier this year, The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck took an informal poll on X, with 96% of respondents saying they either loved or liked Amazon’s coverage of the sport. NASCAR has also touted the younger audiences that Amazon Prime Video brings as a feature of the partnership.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.