Nascar's $7.7B Media Deal Sees Mixed Results in Year One

Steady Fox ratings but fragmented viewership across multiple platforms raise questions about the new broadcast model.

Published on Feb. 10, 2026

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Nascar's new $7.7 billion media rights deal, which divided coverage across four different broadcasters, saw mixed results in its first year in 2025. While Fox delivered steady ratings, the fragmentation of the viewing experience for fans raised challenges. Viewership on cable channels like NBC declined more than expected, though Amazon Prime Video's exclusive races attracted a younger demographic. Nascar remains optimistic about the long-term benefits of the multi-partner arrangement, but acknowledges the need to better coordinate promotion and viewership across the varied platforms.

Why it matters

Nascar's new media rights deal represented a significant increase in revenue, but also introduced complexities for fans trying to follow the sport across multiple platforms. The fragmentation of coverage raises questions about whether Nascar can maintain and grow its audience in the face of competition from rising sports like Formula One.

The details

The new $7.7 billion media rights agreement divided Nascar's flagship Cup Series across four different broadcasters - Fox, Prime Video, TNT Sports, and NBC. This marked the first time Nascar's top series would not be primarily on a single network. The deal also saw the second-tier O'Reilly Auto Parts Series move to the CW network. While Fox's broadcasts maintained steady viewership, cable channels like NBC saw declines, with the network's playoff coverage dropping below 2 million average viewers for the first time. However, Amazon's exclusive races attracted a younger median viewer age of 56.1 years old, meeting Nascar's goal of expanding its digital footprint. TNT also experimented with new tournament-style race formats to boost engagement.

  • The new media rights deal began in the 2025 season.
  • Fox aired the first 14 races of the 2025 season.
  • Prime Video and TNT Sports each aired 5 races in the 2025 season.
  • NBC aired the final 14 races of the 2025 season, including the playoffs.
  • The CW network secured rights to air the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series over a 7-year span starting in 2025.

The players

Steve Phelps

Former Nascar president who played a key role in shaping the sport's trajectory and securing the new media rights deal before resigning.

Brian Herbst

Nascar's chief media and revenue officer, who defended the performance of the new media rights deal in its first year.

Fox

One of the four broadcasters that aired Nascar races as part of the new media rights deal, delivering steady viewership numbers.

Amazon Prime Video

The first digital platform to air exclusive Nascar races, attracting a younger median viewer age.

NBC

One of the broadcasters that saw a decline in viewership for its Nascar playoff coverage in 2025.

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What they’re saying

“If you think about a standard US consumer in 2025 and they're not a Nascar fan, and they go on their Amazon Prime app on a Sunday afternoon during the Amazon stretch of races in June and they're just trying buy paper towels … and they're presented with a Nascar race first, it was an intention and a goal to show up in unexpected places. [Amazon] did a really good job of doing exactly that, so they brought a lot of innovation from a marketing perspective that we thought would be strong, but they exceeded our expectations.”

— Brian Herbst, Nascar's chief media and revenue officer

“The TNT folks … they essentially brought that concept to us after having some success on the NBA side with it. But that was a fun opportunity for us to have some rivalries and driver-on-driver storylines.”

— Brian Herbst, Nascar's chief media and revenue officer

“We're not going to overreact to something that is in year one of a media rights deal. We expect to grow from here and, with respect to the playoffs, we've been discussing that for the better part of the year. We wanted to gracefully crown a champion in 2025.”

— Brian Herbst, Nascar's chief media and revenue officer

What’s next

Nascar and its broadcast partners will continue to evaluate and refine the multi-platform viewing experience for fans ahead of the 2026 season, with a focus on improving coordination and promotion across the varied networks.

The takeaway

Nascar's new $7.7 billion media rights deal represented a significant increase in revenue, but also introduced complexities for fans trying to follow the sport across multiple platforms. While the first year saw mixed results, with steady Fox ratings but declining cable viewership, Nascar remains optimistic about the long-term benefits of the multi-partner arrangement and is working to better integrate the viewing experience across the varied networks.