IndyCar and NBC Sports confirm new TV contract for 2019

IndyCar and NBC Sports confirmed today a new television contract for 2019 and beyond that will see all races broadcast on NBC and NBCSN.

After nearly a year and a half of negotiating and listening to pitches, IndyCar has announced their new television and digital strategy for 2019 and beyond. Two contenders, ESPN / ABC and NBC Sports, were expected for the rights to the open-wheel series. On Wednesday, IndyCar officials confirmed that NBC and NBCSN will have the rights to every IndyCar Series race from 2019 forward.

The announcement was made in New York in conjunction with NBC Sports officials and other NBCUniversal properties. The deal calls for eight races to be carried on the main NBC channel, and the rest on sports network NBCSN. This includes the Indianapolis 500 moving from ABC to NBC for the first time ever in 2019. It also ends a long and historic run for IndyCar races on the alphabet network and corporate sister ESPN.

Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman and Company, which owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar, had this to say about the new television deal, according to IndyCar.com:

"This arrangement brings all of INDYCAR to one home, increases our exposure and includes our first direct-to-consumer offer for our fans. We couldn’t be happier to have start-to-finish coverage of INDYCAR’s season with the NBC Sports Group."

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Jon Miller, President of Programming for NBC Sports and NBCSN, also expressed his excitement about the new deal, according to NBC Sports:

"We’re excited to have NBC Sports serve as the exclusive home of INDYCAR, which represents the most competitive open-wheel racing in the world. We’re honored to bring the Indianapolis 500, one of the most prestigious events in all of sports, to NBC, further enhancing NBC Sports’ Championship Season. We’ve seen consistent growth for INDYCAR on NBCSN in the past decade, and we hope to continue that growth throughout the series by leveraging the television, digital, production and marketing assets that make NBC Sports a powerful media partner."

NBC Sports will integrate the Indianapolis 500 into their “Championship Season” campaign, which already includes the French Open, English Premier League, horse racing’s Triple Crown, and golf’s major championships. All IndyCar Series races will also be streamed online through NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. There will also be an over-the-top offering through NBC Sports Gold that will stream additional content, including practices, qualifying, extra race angles, feeder series, and shoulder content.

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Are you excited to see races on NBC and NBCSN in 2019? Do you think there will be any shakeups to the peacock network’s on-air team to cover the series?