IndyCar: Only two remain in race for future TV contract

In an update before the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, IndyCar CEO Mark Miles confirms only two networks remain in the race for broadcast rights.

IndyCar is entering a transitional year in 2018, with a new car, new teams, and new prospects on the horizon. The series enters its final year with Verizon as its title sponsor, while broadcast partners ABC and NBCSN will see their television contracts come to an end as well. Much of the focus of series CEO Mark Miles in the past few months has been on a new TV contract, one that is becoming clearer by the week.

Ahead of the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Miles confirmed to multiple news agencies that the race for IndyCar’s future TV contract is down to two players. The two incumbents, ESPN / ABC and NBC Sports, are each bidding for sole rights to the IndyCar Series. And with that, there is likely to be an expansion of races seen on broadcast television.

Miles had this to say about the television contract negotiations to IndyStar:

"We’re quite close to choosing between the two sort of finalists, partners. We’re trying to negotiate the rest of the relevant details with just one. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the other one couldn’t come back in. But we think at this point, the way to close this is to know enough to work with one right now and try to get to a term sheet that outlines all the key points and then we’ll have one more chance to see if that’s going to be the end of the game.I think there will be a broadcast package, by which I mean free to air. So if it were ESPN that would mean ABC and if were NBCSN that would mean NBC. I think we will get to the place where we get half or more than half of races on broadcast. Then there will be a cable package, meaning the events that are on cable, and then there will an over-the-top or direct-to-consumer offering."