Fox Sports Snares Indianapolis 500 and NTT IndyCar Series From NBC

brian steinberg

Thu, 13 June 2024, 10:36 am·2-min read

The Indianapolis 500 is racing to Fox after circling the track many years at NBC

IndyCar announced Thursday that Fox would become the new home of the NTT IndyCar Series and the iconic race starting in 2025. The new pact means Fox will have rights to two of auto-racing’s best known events — the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500, part of NASCAR.

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“Adding the iconic Indianapolis 500 and delivering the entire NTT IndyCar Series to the Fox Sports roster fits perfectly within our model of teaming with sports’ largest events and best-in-class brands,” said Eric Shanks, CEO of Fox Sports and its executive producer. “We’re honored to be the new broadcast home to ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,’ an incredibly special event to everyone at Fox Sports.”

The Indianapolis 500 has been at NBC since 2019, when NBC won the rights that had long been held by Disney and ABC.

But NBC has new reasons to count its sports budgets more carefully. The company is believed to have an agreement in place to take over a significant number of NBA games that have been under the aegis of Warner Bros. Discovery — a deal that is expected to be costly. NBC recently ceded rights to the French Open, which will move to Warner starting next year.

Under terms of the new IndyCar pact, Fox will air every 2025 NTT race on its broadcast network and the Fox Sports app, as well as on Fox Deportes. Fox will also provide coverage of Indy 500 qualifications on both Saturday and Sunday, bringing the total number of broadcast network windows to 19, an expanded total for NTT. IndyCar will become the only premier motorsport in the United States with exclusive major broadcast network coverage for all its races.

“This represents unrivaled exposure and provides an unparalleled growth opportunity for the most competitive and entertaining motorsport on the planet,” IndyCar CEO Mark Miles said. “Fox ports is a fully committed partner, ready to bring engaging and technically innovative coverage to millions of fans across the country while also promoting IndyCar thoroughly across all its platforms.”

Meanwhile, Fox will set aside a five-hour window on the broadcast network for Indianapolis 500 coverage. .

All practice and qualifying sessions for the NTT IndyCar Series will be telecast on cable on FS1 and FS2. The majority of INDY NXT by Firestone races will also air on FS1, with FS2 providing supplemental coverage of additional races.

Fox said decisions about talent would be unveiled at a later date.

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