Beginning in 2019, the Indianapolis 500 race will be broadcast on NBC after 54 years on ABC, part of a new multi-year media rights deal between IndyCar and NBC Sports Group.
Under the pact, NBC Sports has acquired rights to present all IndyCar races, qualifying, practices, and Indy Lights races across its platforms beginning in 2019. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The Indianapolis 500 and seven additional Verizon IndyCar Series races will be broadcast annually on NBC, with all remaining races televised on NBCSN. All races will be live streamed to authenticated subscribers on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. Details of NBC Sports’ 2019 IndyCar schedule will be announced at a later date.
Current TV rights are split between NBC and ABC. Most of the Indy races appear on NBCSN, while the Indianapolis 500 and a few other races air on ABC.
“We’re excited to have NBC Sports serve as the exclusive home of IndyCar, which represents the most competitive open-wheel racing in the world,” said Jon Miller, President, Programming, NBC Sports and NBCSN. “We’re honored to bring the Indianapolis 500, one of the most prestigious events in all of sports, to NBC, further enhancing NBC Sports’ Championship Season. 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.”
“This arrangement brings all of IndyCar to one home, increases our exposure and includes our first direct-to-consumer offer for our fans,” said Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Company, which owns IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “We couldn’t be happier to have start-to-finish coverage of IndyCar’s season with the NBC Sports Group.”
“We have had a wonderful and rewarding relationship with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar and it has been our distinct honor to be partners for so many years,” Burke Magnus, ESPN EVP Programming and Scheduling in a statement. “We look forward to the rest of our events this season and wish them all the best in the future.”
The 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 is set for Sunday, May 26, 2019. The race will also be included every year in NBC Sports’ Championship Season marketing campaign, the network says, which touts high-profile championship events presented across NBC Sports platforms from May to July including horse racing’s Triple Crown, The Players, Premier League Championship Sunday, the French Open, Stanley Cup Final, Tour de France, and The Open Championship.
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