NASCAR president talks streaming deal, says Amazon is ‘here to stay’

In a Monday interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, NASCAR President Steve Phelps discussed his company’s new deal with Amazon Prime streaming, saying Amazon is a sticking force in sports distribution.

“Amazon, from a sports standpoint is here to stay,” Phelps said. “What they’ve done with the NFL, obviously, what they’re going to do with us, there’ll be other sports properties, I’m sure, that they will bring in to the fold.”

NASCAR announced last year it entered into a seven-year agreement with Prime Video, giving the platform exclusive rights to five of its Cup Series races in 2025. Phelps was “thrilled” about NASCAR’s partnership with Amazon, saying the deal was his company’s first “pure streamer” at its Cup Series level. However, he added that linear television remains important to the company. NASCAR also has agreements to show other races with NBC, FOX, and TNT sports, a division of Warner Bros.

The NFL financed a huge streaming deal back in 2021 that gave Prime Video exclusive rights to its Thursday Night Football package. Amazon averaged 13 million viewers during its first NFL game last season, with viewership on the platform growing 24% this season.

Phelps also discussed other ways NASCAR is trying to innovate. Netflix is set to release a NASCAR documentary series, ‘NASCAR: Full Speed,’ on Tuesday. And the company hosted its first annual Cup Series street race in Chicago last year, with Phelps adding that 80% of viewers who bought tickets to the event had never been to a NASCAR race.

“We’re trying to keep things fresh and moving,” he said. “So, yes, true to kind of the history of NASCAR and the DNA, but the new NASCAR is also doing things that are bold and innovative and things that haven’t been done before, like the Chicago street race.”

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