IndyCar moves to NBC

IndyCar has signed a new media rights package with NBC Sports Group that will dramatically increase its exposure next season and move the Indianapolis 500 to a different network for the first time since 1965. The three-year deal begins in 2019 and gives NBC the entire IndyCar package. It has most recently been split between ABC and NBC Sports, and only ABC was permitted to air races on broadcast television. NBC was relegated to cable. Under the new contract, eight IndyCar races will be on broadcast next season, up from five that ABC aired. The rest of the schedule will be on NBC Sports Network. ABC had a stranglehold on the Indy 500 and its contract limited NBC-aired events to cable. Both IndyCar CEO Mark Miles and heavyweight team

owners Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi had stressed the need for IndyCar to be on one network going forward with fewer races on cable.