Indy 500 Moving to NBC After 54 Years on ABC

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

The Indianapolis 500 race will move to NBC in 2019 after 54 years on ABC as part of a new agreement between IndyCar and NBC Sports Group.

NBC Sports will also become the exclusive home of IndyCar racing after year long negotiations, according to the Indianapolis Star. NBC and ABC had split the group’s races previously.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but more IndyCar races will be moving from cable to broadcast. Beginning in 2019, eight races including the 500 will appear on NBC. The remaining races will appear on NBCSN.

Races will also be streamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. NBC Sports’ subscription product, NBC Sports Gold, will also have IndyCar programming including qualifying and practice sessions.

“We have had a wonderful and rewarding relationship with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar and it has been our distinct honor to be partners for so many years. We look forward to the rest of our events this season and wish them all the best in the future,” ESPN Executive VP, Programming & Scheduling Burke Magnus said in a statement.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.