The Indianapolis 500 will air on a network other than ABC for the first time in 54 years, with NBC Sports acquiring exclusive television rights to broadcast the entire IndyCar Series schedule beginning in 2019.
NBC Sports swipes Indianapolis 500 TV rights from ABC after 54 years
NBC Sports will carry all IndyCar Series races — including the Indy 500 — beginning in 2019.
The three-year deal increases IndyCar’s presence on broadcast television with eight races airing on NBC and the remaining eight to 10 races airing on NBC Sports Network. ABC has carried the Indianapolis 500 since 1965 along with other select IndyCar races. Exact financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
To maximize exposure, IndyCar Series executives had sought a television package that would place more races on a single network as opposed to primarily cable and a hodgepodge of partners. ABC owned exclusive rights through the 2018 season that prevented any other network from airing races. NBC Sports carried non-network races in recent years.
“ABC has been a fantastic partner, not only for the 500 but for its broad coverage of the Verizon IndyCar Series,” IndyCar CEO Mark Miles said in a statement. “This partnership will continue with the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 in May and together we look forward to the successful year ahead.”
The addition of the Indianapolis 500, one of the biggest races in the world, gives NBC another marquee property to add its array of sports broadcast rights that includes NASCAR, English Premier League soccer, NFL Sunday Night Football, NHL regular-season games and the Stanley Cup Finals, Tour de France, and horse racing’s Triple Crown.
Portions of NBC’s IndyCar coverage will be place in its gold package, a direct-to-consumer subscription-based service. This will include practice and qualifying sessions, support races, and the post-season championship awards ceremony. All races will also be streamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
“We’ve seen consistent growth for IndyCar on NBCSN in the past decade, and we hope to continue that growth throughout the series by leveraging the television, digital, production, and marketing assets that make NBC Sports a powerful media partner,” said Jon Miller, president of programming for NBC Sports and NBCSN.
