Denny Hamlin Fears Amazon & Warner Bros Could Meet a Bitter “Declining Audience” Fate Despite Roping Dale Jr

NASCAR is certainly leaving no stone unturned in its bid to elevate the sport to the next level. The new mega-TV deal certainly indicates that NASCAR wants to move away from its traditional foothold and enter the modern era of sports broadcasting. On paper, a partnership with the likes of Amazon and Warner Bros. does look promising, but Denny Hamlin believes that it won’t be an easy transition for fans.

Predominantly, NASCAR fans have enjoyed watching the racing live on their television sets via cable connections. However, with the dip in TV ratings, NASCAR needed to put a plan in motion that allowed the sport to reach a wider audience and new fans. But at the same time, they need cable users to switch to streaming platforms, and that is why Dale Jr was onboarded as an analyst for Amazon Prime Video and Warner Bros.

Denny Hamlin explains how changes in the network broadcaster have taken a toll on sport

Recently, Dale Jr dropped a bombshell to his fans and community about him not continuing with NBC. The next move he made was to join a new camp with Amazon and Warner Brothers. While Dale Jr is well past his racing days in NASCAR, he is still one of the most prominent personalities in the sport. And his influence on the community is, by and large, unchallenged. However, Jared Allen, host of Hamlin’s podcast show, had his doubts about traditional viewers shifting to streaming platforms, despite onboarding Dale Jr.

In reply, Hamlin too agreed with Allen’s notion. The JGR driver, speaking on his show “Actions Detrimental,” explained, “It won’t. I mean, that’s the tough part about it. Every new TV deal, we’re changing channel right? That’s been tough on our sport, and we’ve been sold for a very long time by NASCAR that hey, this is going to be better, and it’s always been up-and-coming networks.

“Now those that are going on and are not up-and-coming networks, which is a very very good thing but it took its toll on using NASCAR Cup Series to build up a channel. Because you’re always going to have a dip and decline in audience…I think overall the Sport’s in a very very good positive place and I think that certainly it should have a bump in ratings for the same Vegas race we had last year.”

However, for the time being, NASCAR Cup Series races are seeing a bump in TV ratings. After a sensational three-wide finish at Atlanta, the Las Vegas race also saw improved ratings when compared to last year’s event.

The most-watched sports event in the country last weekend

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It has just been three races in the season so far, but it looks like the Cup Series has entered its playoff phase. Such has been the nature of racing. This, in turn, has seen more and more fans tuning in to watch the thrilling action on the weekends. After a blockbuster weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Las Vegas Race also saw a good response in terms of TV ratings. FOX TV reported that they got 4.359 million viewers for Sunday’s Cup Series race. This is a 9% jump from last year’s 3.991 viewers, making it the most-watched sports event of the weekend in the country.

Read More: Amidst 23XI Racing Pit Crew Criticism, Denny Hamlin Let Joe Gibbs Racing Down in Las Vegas 

The Pennzoil 400 was the first non-superspeedway package race of the season and delivered on its promise. For the most part, drivers raced cleanly, and there were fewer wrecks and accidents compared to the previous two races. In a thrilling end to the race, Kyle Larson managed to hold off a late charge by Tyler Reddick and bagged his first win for the 2024 season.

The three races since the start of the season have built momentum and garnered good reactions from the fans. It will be interesting to see if the race in Phoenix is able to add to his positive momentum and drive in TV ratings.