IndyCar, NBC Sports Agree To Multi-Year Rights Extension

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IndyCar and NBC Sports have agreed to a multi-year media rights contract extension for races, qualifying and the Indianapolis 500. NBC Sports will continue to be the exclusive home of the Inianapolis 500, as well as provide coverage for all races, qualifying, practices and Indy Lights races across its many platforms.

IndyCar will see a significant increase in network exposure in 2022, with 13 races now set to be broadcast on NBC. USA Network and Peacock Premium will show the remaining races, and Telemundo Deportes will provide Spanish-language coverage of the season-opening race, the Indianapolis 500 and the season finale. The streaming service Peacock is also scheduled to exclusively stream two races, which will be announced at a later date.

“NBC Sports is proud to extend its partnership with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and continue to serve as the exclusive home of the most competitive open-wheel racing series in the world and ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,’” says Jon Miller, NBC Sports. “We have demonstrated NBCUniversal’s ability to make big events bigger with our presentations of the Indianapolis 500, we have worked closely with Roger Penske, Mark Miles and the entire team to expand INDYCAR’s reach across the U.S, and we are thrilled to build upon our collaborative successes of the past few years.”

“NBC Sports has been the ideal partner for the NTT IndyCar Series, bringing our bold and audacious style of racing to a significantly larger domestic audience and fully leveraging the power and scale of the Indianapolis 500,” says Mark Miles, President and CEO, Penske Entertainment Corp. “This new deal represents a significant expansion of our network TV exposure and sets us up for continued growth and success alongside a committed, innovative and world-class broadcast partner.”

The partnership between NBC Sports and IndyCar dates back to 2009, when NBCSN (originally VERSUS) became the cable home of the series and televised the majority of its races each season. NBC Sports became the exclusive home of IndyCar in 2019, which also marked the year of NBC’s inaugural Indianapolis 500 broadcast.

The IndyCar season is currently on break and will resume on Aug. 8 when the streets of Nashville will make their IndyCar debut in the highly anticipated Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.

Steven Boero
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