{"id":311101,"date":"2025-10-17T16:04:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T16:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/311101\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T16:04:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T16:04:12","slug":"why-amazon-thinks-losing-nascar-viewers-isnt-a-bad-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/311101\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Amazon Thinks Losing NASCAR Viewers Isn\u2019t a Bad\u00a0Thing"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Amazon Prime Video launched itself into NASCAR<\/a>\u2019s broadcasting lineup this season, aside from a new media deal, it was a test to see just how far the sport could extend into the streaming age.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For one of the world\u2019s most valuable companies (market cap<\/a>: $2.3 trillion ) this was about figuring out a whole new way people could connect with them, through the NASCAR races.<\/p>\n

Amazon broadcast 5 Cup Series events, including that very first Mexico City race and the iconic Coca-Cola 600. Right off the bat, it was clear that the production quality was top notch: over 70 different camera angles, mics on the pit boxes, and drone flyovers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fans really like the broadcast for its energy and precision, a breath of fresh air after years of pretty spotty coverage on traditional TV.<\/p>\n

But the numbers didn\u2019t quite live up to expectations. On average, Amazon\u2019s coverage drew<\/a> 2.16 million viewers, roughly 21% fewer than comparable events on FOX the year before that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And of those viewers, it was the older crowd that tanked the most, with the 55+ demographic plummeting by around 40%. On paper that\u2019s a drop that\u2019d give most networks a serious case of the jitters. But for Amazon, that\u2019s not how it works.<\/p>\n

Amazone Redefining What It Means to \u2018Win\u2019 in\u00a0NASCAR<\/p>\n

\"NASCAR:Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

When speaking to Racing America, Alex Strand, part of Amazon Prime\u2019s NASCAR broadcast team, about the company\u2019s outlook he said<\/a>: \u201cIf someone watches the race one week, and then they decide, hey, we\u2019re going to go to next week\u2019s race, and we lose a viewer because they\u2019ve decided, it looks so awesome, they want to go to the next race, that\u2019s a big win for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

What he\u2019s saying is that losing a viewer because they want to attend the live event is a trade Amazon is more than happy to make. And in a lot of ways, the numbers actually back that up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Take the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which sold out<\/a> for the fourth year running and drew fans from all 50 US states and 12 foreign countries. Pocono Raceway also had its third straight sell out<\/a>, with visitors from 13 different international markets.<\/p>\n

Amazon\u2019s way of thinking on this basically seems like it\u2019s matching how they use technology everywhere else, not just to dish out content, but to actually shape how people behave.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Strand puts it, \u201cif we\u2019re going to go do this sport, we need to be on site, we need to be in the mix, and we need to show off that access to people at home. And so it was near the top of our list to say, everyone\u2019s there, everyone\u2019s in person, and we want to make sure everyone at home feels like they\u2019re in the middle of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Amazon, the aim was not necessarily about going for the best ratings. It was showing that NASCAR can work on streaming\u200a\u2014\u200aif fans engage in some way, whether from the couch or in the grandstands, the system is working. Thus, by that logic, losing a viewer wouldn\u2019t even be a loss. It sounds backwards, but in Amazon\u2019s view, that\u2019s the point.<\/p>\n

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\t\tMy love for motorsports started in my childhood in Tunisia, watching races with my family. Fast forward to today, … More about Farah Ben Gamra<\/a><\/p>\n

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