Indy 500 will motor over to NBC in new TV contract

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — 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 U.S. network for the first time since 1965.

Jon Miller, president of programming for NBC Sports Group, called the Indy 500 “one of the great jewels in all of sports” and said he was thrilled the network has been “entrusted” with the event.

ABC’s partnership with the Indy 500 was the second-longest in U.S. sports, only to CBS’s coverage of the Masters. CBS first began broadcasting the golf tournament in 1956.

“We have had a wonderful and rewarding relationship with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar, and it has been our distinct honour to be partners for so many years,” said Burke Magnus, ESPN executive vice-president of programming and scheduling. “We look forward to the rest of our events this season and wish them all the best in the future.”

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.