IRL And The Indy 500 Moving From ABC To NBC

INDIANA  — The Indianapolis 500 will soon have a new television home.

The Greatest Spectical in racing has been on ABC for 53 years, but starting with the 2019 season, the entire IndyCar package is moving to NBC.

It could be an exceptional deal for the series because of promised increased exposure across multiple platforms.

The Indy 500 on ABC is the second-longest partnership in television and sports events behind only the Masters, which has been on CBS since 1956.

It’s a jewel ABC did not particularly want to give up, and IndyCar wasn’t unhappy with the network’s production of its most important asset.

But IndyCar badly wanted its races on one network and made that clear in negotiations with both ABC and NBC. The networks have been sharing the series for several years, with ABC owning the Indy 500 and the broadcast rights. NBC got the leftovers and was allowed to air IndyCar only on cable.

IndyCar CEO Mark Miles worked out a three-year deal assigning all media rights to NBC. The agreement announced Wednesday comes with an increased number of races on broadcast (NBC) and a subscription-only channel for IndyCar’s diehard fans.

NBC and ABC were in the bidding until the very end, with both networks interested in obtaining the whole package according to officials.

Negotiations apparently ended sometime late last week and ABC sent an internal memo to its stations notifying them the IndyCar package would end after this season. An employee at one of those stations revealed ABC’s statement in a since-deleted tweet.

The Indy 500 will be part of NBC’s “Championship Season” marketing campaign. The network touts numerous high-profile championship events from May to July that include horse racing’s Triple Crown, Premier League Championship Sunday, the French Open, the Stanley Cup Final and the Tour de France.

It’s the package that heavyweight team owners Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi were openly lobbying for during the season-opening race earlier this month.

Penske said NBC Sports will “invest in the future of the sport” at a time when the series has positive momentum.

For more on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway click here.

For more on the IRL click here.

The entire IRL series can be head in WAMB 1130 AM and 99.5 FM and streaming at https://www.wambradio.com/

The Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400 can also be heard on Lite 927 WFNB and streaming online at http://www.lite927wfnb.com/