IndyCar: NBC Sports to carry full season coverage in 2019 and beyond

The sweepstakes is over for the next IndyCar television contract. Series officials are set to announce Wednesday that NBC Sports takes over sole rights in 2019.

When the IndyCar Series went shopping for a new television contract to begin with the 2019 season, they made it clear that they wanted to put all the races under one station’s umbrella. And right from the start, the two incumbents ESPN / ABC and NBC Sports were the frontrunners. The former has aired open-wheel races for years and just picked up the rights to Formula One. The latter has steadily improved ratings for the series on cable while also pairing races with NASCAR telecasts. Which one would win out?

Series officials are set to announce their new television contract for 2019 and beyond in New York on Wednesday, with multiple reports suggesting NBC Sports will be their sole partner. While details of the plan are largely unknown, it is expected that the NBC broadcast network will carry eight to ten races as part of the deal. The remainder of the races will air on NBCSN, or be pushed to CNBC in cases of NASCAR conflicts.

One of the biggest keys for the new IndyCar television contract has been added exposure on broadcast television, something officials, teams, and sponsors felt the last contract lacked. ABC has broadcast five races each year since NBCSN won the rights to cable coverage of the series, but regularly has aired the same five events. These include the season-opener at St. Petersburg, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis 500, and the Dual in Detroit. NBC Sports could add some variety here, mixing in IndyCar races along with their NASCAR coverage.

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That motorsports connection at NBC and NBCSN was likely one of the biggest selling points for the peacock network. ESPN has largely divested itself of racing interests, losing NASCAR at the end of 2014, NHRA two years later, and now IndyCar. While they have added Formula One in a multi-year deal, they did not pay a rights fee for coverage and will largely treat it as a simulcast of Sky Sports F1.

The new contract to be unveiled this week for IndyCar and NBC Sports continues a bit of a renaissance for the open-wheel series. With four new teams bolstering the grid in 2018, new marquee sponsorships from PNC Bank and SealMaster, and new universal bodywork that will even the playing field, much of the motorsports momentum in the United States is behind the IndyCar Series. Providing a more prominent platform for more races on NBC will only help to continue that growth.

On the other side, IndyCar will be ending a relationship with ESPN and ABC that dates back to the days of the Wide World of Sports. ABC was the first broadcast network to air any part of the Indianapolis 500, including the first live action and first live flag-to-flag coverage of the race. However, many IndyCar fans felt that their production value and commentary team lagged behind that of NBC Sports in recent years. It is expected that Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell, and Paul Tracy will get to call every IndyCar race in 2019, including the greatest spectacle in racing.

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Are you excited to see IndyCar move all their races to NBC and NBCSN in 2019 and beyond? Will you miss seeing races on ABC?