The television rights to broadcast the IndyCar Series in the United States have varied between different broadcasters since the series' founding as the Indy Racing League (IRL) in 1995 as a competitor to the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART).
For the inaugural season of the IRL championship, which consisted of only three races, all events were telecast by ABC Sports. For the series' second season, spanning 1996 and 1997, a single race―TBA―was picked up for broadcast by CBS Sports.
On March 27, 1997, a new television contract was announced for the 1998 season. ABC retained the rights to broadcast four events, including the Indianapolis 500, with ancillary programming surrounding the marquee race airing on ESPN. CBS would also return as a broadcaster for three other events. A new addition for the season would be CBS' cable partner The Nashville Network (TNN; now Paramount Network), which would broadcast three races. [1] This new arrangement would last only a single season, with IRL announcing a new agreement for 1999. For the following season, IRL announced another new contract. The sanctioning body revealed on December 23, 1998, that it had struck a deal with Fox Sports to become a major television partner. For the 1999 season, Fox would broadcast nine out of eleven events, with a majority of races on the regional sports network system Fox Sports Net. ABC Sports would retain rights to air just two races–the Indianapolis 500 and the race at Walt Disney World Speedway. A television contract for qualifying at the series races, excluding the 500, was carved out for Speedvision. [2]
With the first four years of IRL marked by changing television partners, the series made the decision to settle down with a primary partner. Beginning with the 2000 season, the league signed a multi-year deal with ABC and ESPN. The contract, worth $13 million annually over five years, covered ten races, split between the broadcast and cable network. [3] The relationship between IRL and ABC/ESPN was deepened in 2001, when the two sides agreed to extend their deal through the 2007 season. A key aspect to this extension was an exclusive sporting relationship between the two, locking CART out of a broadcasting relationship with ABC/ESPN. [4]
In August 2008, a now-unified IndyCar Series announced two separate television deals worth $10.9 million annually for the 2009 season. ABC renewed with a deal significantly smaller than its previous arrangement. The broadcast network would only air five races per season, including the 500, under a $4.2 million per-year, three-year deal. Meanwhile, burgeoning cable sports network Versus signed a ten-year deal to cover thirteen races annually from the series through the 2018 season. [5] ABC would later renew their deal to broadcast the 500 plus four other races through 2019, coinciding with the end of the Versus contract. In 2011, Comcast, owner of Versus, would purchase a majority stake in NBCUniversal, completing a full acquisition in 2013. As a result, in 2012, Versus was folded into NBC Sports and rebranded as NBC Sports Network (NBCSN).
As ABC/ESPN and NBCSN's respective deals neared expiring after the 2018 season, both networks were considered front runners for deals to exclusively televise the series from 2019 onward. According to sources, each network offered the series a significant jump in races on over-the-air television, with ABC offering ten races annually and NBC eight. [6] On March 21, 2018, IndyCar and NBC Sports announced a three-year deal to become the exclusive rightsholder to races through the 2021 season. As per reports, at least eight races were slated to air on NBC, with the others remaining on NBCSN. Practice and qualifying sessions would become part of a seasonal package on NBC Sports Gold. [7] The deal ended ABC's coverage of the Indianapolis 500 after 50-plus years.
NBC Sports would renew its exclusive television deal on July 20, 2021. A few aspects would change in the new contract. The majority of the series races would now be broadcast on NBC (13 in 2022). In a series' first, up to two races per season would be aired on NBCUniversal's new subscription streaming service Peacock, in addition to practice and qualifying sessions. USA Network would also become NBC's new cable outlet, following the shuttering of NBCSN at the end of 2021, airing all races not on NBC or Peacock. [8]
On February 14, 2024, Racer reported that Fox Sports was preparing to make a serious bid for the series' television rights for the 2025 season and beyond. [9] However, on April 5, it was reported that both Fox and NBC were in frontrunner positions for a new television contract. [10] IndyCar announced a multi-year television contract with Fox Sports on June 12, 2025. Under this new contract, all seventeen points races will be broadcast on the main Fox network. Additionally, two sessions of time trials for the Indianapolis 500 will be televised on Fox, bringing the total annual windows on the network to nineteen. All other practice and qualifying coverage will air on a combination of FS1 and FS2, as will races from the Indy NXT series. [11]
| Date | Event (Track) | Network | Commentary | Pit Reporters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lap-by-lap | Color | ||||
| January 27 | Indy 200 (Walt Disney World) [12] | ABC | Paul Page | Danny Sullivan Bobby Unser | Jack Arute Gary Gerould |
| March 24 | Dura Lube 200 (Phoenix) [13] | ABC | Paul Page | Danny Sullivan Bobby Unser | Jack Arute Gary Gerould |
| May 26 | Indianapolis 500 | ABC | Paul Page | Danny Sullivan Bobby Unser | Jack Arute Gary Gerould Jerry Punch |
| Date | Event (Track) | Network | Commentary | Pit Reporters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lap-by-lap | Color | ||||
| August 18 | True Value 200 (New Hampshire) [14] | ABC | Paul Page | Bobby Unser | Jack Arute Gary Gerould |
| September 15 | Las Vegas 500K [15] | ABC ^ | Paul Page | Danny Sullivan Bobby Unser | Jack Arute Gary Gerould |
| January 25 | Indy 200 (Walt Disney World) [16] | ABC | Paul Page | Bobby Unser | Jack Arute Gary Gerould |
| March 23 | Phoenix 200 [17] | ABC | Paul Page | Tom Sneva | Jack Arute Gary Gerould |
| May 25–27 | 81st Indianapolis 500 | ABC | Paul Page | Tom Sneva Danny Sullivan Bobby Unser | Jack Arute Gary Gerould Jerry Punch |
| June 7 | True Value 500 (Texas) [18] | ESPN2 | Paul Page | Jon Beekhuis | Jerry Punch Marty Reid |
| June 29 | Samsonite 200 (Pikes Peak) [19] | ABC | Paul Page | Tom Sneva | Jack Arute Jon Beekhuis |
| July 26 | VisionAire 500 (Charlotte) [20] | CBS ^ | Mike Joy | Scott Sharp | Brian Hammons Mike King |
| August 17 | Pennzoil 200 (New Hampshire) [21] | ABC | Paul Page | Tom Sneva | Jack Arute Jon Beekhuis |
| October 11 | Las Vegas 500K [22] | ABC | Paul Page | Tom Sneva | Jon Beekhuis Gary Gerould |
| Date | Event (Track) | Network | Commentary | Pit Reporters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lap-by-lap | Color | ||||
| January 29 | Delphi Indy 200 (Walt Disney World) [43] | ABC | Bob Jenkins | Tom Sneva | Jack Arute Vince Welch |
| March 19 | MCI WorldCom Indy 200 (Phoenix) [44] | ABC | Bob Jenkins | Tom Sneva | Jack Arute Vince Welch |
| April 22 | Vegas Indy 300 (Las Vegas) [45] | ABC | Bob Jenkins | Tom Sneva | Jack Arute Vince Welch |
| May 28 | 84th Indianapolis 500 | ABC | Bob Jenkins | Tom Sneva Arie Luyendyk | Jack Arute Leslie Gudel Jerry Punch Vince Welch |
| June 11 | Casino Magic 500 (Texas) [46] | ESPN2 | Bob Jenkins | Tom Sneva | Jack Arute Vince Welch |
| June 18 | Radisson 200 (Pikes Peak) [47] | ABC | Bob Jenkins | Tom Sneva | Jack Arute Vince Welch |
| July 15 | Midas 500 Classic (Atlanta) [48] | ESPN | Bob Jenkins | Tom Sneva | Jack Arute Vince Welch |
| August 27 | Belterra Resort Indy 300 (Kentucky) [49] | ESPN | Bob Jenkins | Tom Sneva | Jack Arute Vince Welch |
| October 15 | Excite 500 (Texas) [50] | ABC | Bob Jenkins | Tom Sneva | Jack Arute Vince Welch |
| Date | Event (Track) | Network | Commentary | Pit Reporters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lap-by-lap | Color | ||||
| March 2 | Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg | Fox | Will Buxton | Townsend Bell James Hinchcliffe | Jack Harvey Kevin Lee Jamie Little |
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