IndyCar saw a jump across the board during a 2023 season that featured a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.32 million viewers across NBC, USA Network, Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms – a 2% increase from 2022’s then-record of 1.30 million. The recent campaign was the most watched since 2011, which was 1.39 million viewers during the era of shared broadcast between NBC Sports and ABC.
The 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 led the way with a TAD of 4.93 million viewers across NBC and Peacock. Additionally, the race enjoyed a 13 share (percentage of homes watching television at the time of the race), its best since hitting the same number in 2008.
While the numbers are promising, next year IndyCar will have nine of 17 races on NBC (compared to 13 in 2023), with two on Peacock and the remaining six on USA Network. There is also the unique layout of the schedule, which was tweaked to compliment NBC’s broadcast of the Summer Olympics July 26-Aug. 11.
With that, Mark Miles, president and CEO of Penske Entertainment, provided the latest update as IndyCar navigates through some of the complexities of the negotiation process.
“NBC is eager to extend with us and to continue to be our principal partner,” Miles told Motorsport.com.
“That is what it is. They know the economics of the Olympics. I think most broadcasters are looking at what's next and what's open in the market, what's coming up and available much more so than the Olympics, which of course are contracted for a long time.
“Overall, we're very encouraged by the number of platforms that wanted to and are talking with us.”
In September, it was revealed that IndyCar hired Endeavor’s IMG Media division as part to consult as it enters the media rights market. The collective of Miles, IMG Media and Jonathan Gibson, executive vice president of Penske Corp., have already made numerous trips to New York and Los Angeles.
“The presentations all are tailored with whom we're speaking, so that if they're less initiated into motorsports or IndyCar, we're telling them more about us and our history and all that,” Miles said.
“If it's a prospective partner that we know knows IndyCar, then it's more about kind of what you asked, 'Do we have flexibility on the way we schedule? What kind of windows might they be able to provide that we'd be looking for? Et cetera, et cetera.' It's the earliest stages. There are several that we're talking with that continue to be interested at some level.
“Ultimately, I expect it's probably three or four that have a developed interest as we get farther into the process. The kinds of things you want to talk about are really, it's everything; it's reach, meaning what platforms and what windows they would have available. So, whether that's fully streaming, or fully linear, fully linear meaning broadcast and cable. Or more like NBC, where you got all three under the same governance. There's lots of different ways depending on who you're talking to that you could get scheduled. It's promotion. It's rights fees.
“Eventually, it would become the term, you know, is it a three-year deal or a five-year deal, or a seven-year deal? And all those things relate to each other. So, you don't really tick off one box and then say, 'Okay, that's done independent of the other things.' So, we're in the early stages of it. We're real encouraged by the breadth of interest and the early conversations about the kinds of things that prospective partners would think about.
“We've been very pleased with NBC as a partner and are very pleased that their starting inclination is they'd like to extend, and we appreciate that. They know that we have to understand what's out there before we would really rejoin the conversation with them.”
For the sake of comparison, the NASCAR Cup Series had a 2023 TAD of 2.47 million viewers across 20 races on NBC, USA Network, Peacock and NBC Sports Digital. Next year will mark the end of NASCAR’s current media rights agreement with Fox and NBC that stretched 10 years and worth $8.2 billion ($820 million per season).
The breakdown of the deal provides 65% to tracks, 25% to teams and 10% to NASCAR, but it is likely to change with the new charter deal that will see an increase for teams.
When asked if IndyCar’s next media rights agreement might offer a promotional or a marketing package for tracks in an effort to increase venue attendance, with a proposed $200,000 thrown in the mix, Miles believes it could make sense.
“Before you said $200,000, I was going to say 'No', but when you're talking about us doing more together promotionally, quite possibly would be my answer,” Miles said.
“But remember when you look at what NASCAR's doing, they're still between $800-900 million a year.
“So, the extent of which their racetracks are paid and benefit from their TV deal and the same for the teams is going to continue, for a while at least, to be meaningfully greater than ours.”
Miles also mentioned '100 Days to Indy' will be returning in 2024. The CW Network aired the six-part docuseries that debuted in 2023 and was filmed and produced in partnership with VICE Media and Penske Entertainment.
Additionally, though, there could be room for a scripted television series in the works.
“I think ‘100 Days to Indy’, there'll be a season two and it'll be with CW and maybe different partners internationally,” Miles said. “But that's not the whole opportunity from the point of view of shoulder programming. I've talked both about ‘100 Days to Indy’ in another conversation, advancing that ball and to a new interest in a kind of a scripted TV series. So, there's interest out there.
“Our current arrangement with NBC is if we want to do something, they get a first look and they can say, 'well, we'll take it or not'. That's probably the most likely result that not giving anybody exclusive ability to not just have the live coverage, but all kinds of shoulder programming I think is unlikely.
“On the other hand, if you were talking to somebody like Apple TV, they don't produce everything or create everything that they show, but they also have a point of view about what they want to put on. So, they might be an example. I'm not saying it's them. They might be an example of somebody who would have a more energetic interest in shoulder programing.”
