The early stages of NASCAR’s new $1 million in-season tournament will come into focus this weekend as fans continue to get used to the sport’s new media partners.
Over the next three races on new rights-holder Amazon Prime Video, performances will determine the seeding for a 32-driver bracket. Drivers will be seeded by their best finish in the upcoming three races, with the first tiebreaker being the next-best finish.
Amazon has averaged 2.39 million viewers for the first two broadcasts of the streamer’s five-race package this season. As expected, that’s down from last year’s ratings on Fox, which averaged 3.17 million viewers over the same two-race stretch (Charlotte and Nashville). However, Amazon said the median ages of its race audiences (55.8 and 56.8, respectively) are far lower than the 62.8 median age of NASCAR Cup Series races this season on linear networks.
Passing the Torch
When Amazon’s slate of races concludes, TNT Sports will air all five races that encompass the single-elimination portion of the in-season tournament, beginning with the June 28 race in Atlanta.
In addition to the normal race playing out, drivers will advance or be eliminated from the tournament by comparing their head-to-head result against the other driver they are matched up with. The $1 million winner-take-all tournament will crown its champion at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27.
TNT Sports is adding NASCAR to its portfolio just as its NBA rights expire. Other new sports rights for the Warner Bros. Discovery subsidiary include the ongoing French Open and the College Football Playoff.
Amazon, TNT Sports, and The CW (Xfinity Series) became NASCAR media-rights partners this season alongside incumbents Fox and NBC, all of which will collectively pay $7.7 billion over the next seven years.
