Here is a rundown of what got me thinking.
Sonoma had a weekend, and it got people arguing on Twitter. Notable people too! Not just some rum-dums. Williams still doesn't have a spare, and both drivers had an accident this weekend. Max Verstappen and Red Bull bounced back from Australian misfortune to dominate the Japanese Grand Prix. Team Penske reached 6,000 races started in the organization's history. Hendrick Motorsports celebrated its 40th anniversary. The bottom two-thirds of the Road to Indy raced in Louisiana. Maybe IndyCar should have tagged along? No... no... too soon? Would people have liked a return to NOLA Motorsports Park nine years after the nightmare that was IndyCar's lone visit? How desperate are people for an IndyCar race? None of these questions will be answer, but we will be exploring IndyCar's soon-to-be determined broadcasting future.
Let's Talk Television... Again!
I was going to use this space to do some more deep diving into the month-by-month IndyCar race winners over the history of the series that was posted last week, but there was an actual report that came out Friday that warrants discussion.
Two months after we first explored IndyCar's future television deal, it appears we are on the doorstep of that deal being finalized, and it appears to be closer than we first thought.
The Indianapolis Star's Nathan Brown reported last week the next IndyCar television contract was down to Fox or NBC, and in the last few weeks, NBC has been rising after it appeared the series was firmly set on moving to Fox. Brown did say it was still leaning in Fox's favor, but remaining with NBC was much closer than it was earlier during the preseason.
When it comes to the finances, Brown reported NBC was looking to pay a slight increase from its current deal, willing to spend $25 million a year while Fox was in the $30-35 million ballpark. However, the big difference is NBC is pushing a network television heavy package with some cable races and the streaming component of Peacock while Fox would have fewer races on network television while most of the races taking place on cable between Fox Sports 1 and possibly even Fox Sports 2.
While the belief is IndyCar will make a decision sometime before the end of May, Brown said there is a chance we could know as soon as Long Beach weekend, as Fox is based out of Southern California.
With it pared down to two options, real figures being thrown about and a rough idea of how coverage will be broken down, it is a good time to weigh where we stand and what will happen next.
There is a chance IndyCar feels it has gone as far as it can with NBC, and while viewership is up marginally, it is time to look elsewhere to try and make that next leap up. That is understandable, and Fox is reportedly offering more money anyway. However, considering IndyCar's philosophy over the last six years, it would be a sharp change to go back to cable-heavy coverage.
The availability of network television windows put IndyCar in front of more people and naturally boosted ratings without having to do anything seismic. Consider that from 2009 to 2018, IndyCar above 500,000 viewers for cable races only twice over the span. In the last three seasons, when the number of network races have been nine, 14 and 13, the average overall viewership has been over 1.24 million per race. Last year's 1.32 average was IndyCar's best since 2011.
It is more than network vs. cable though, and it is more than just races. However you may feel about streaming and the abundance of platforms, we aren't going to see a cable television renaissance either. If you have cut the cord, there is an option where you can pay and get every IndyCar race, every IndyCar practice session, every IndyCar qualifying session, and you get the Indy Lights race as well. Not to forget mentioning those practice sessions, qualifying sessions and Indy Lights races are all commercial-free.
That is Peacock. Fox does not have that over-the-top streaming platform at this time, and that should raise questions of where all that auxiliary coverage will go. Fox plans to be a part of an overarching sports streaming platform with ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery, but that does not exist yet and could face legal pushback. Where you can watch practice and qualifying is as important as the races, and in the year 2025 when this contract will begin you cannot have practice sessions and qualifying sessions not be available to watch somewhere.
Let's also not forget that you will be able to watch two days of Indianapolis 500 testing this week on Peacock, and come May you will get all-day coverage of both qualifying days on Peacock. IndyCar fans love their six-hour mid-week test days. Don't take that away from them!
It is unclear how much Fox values IndyCar practice, but comparing it to NASCAR, it is going to be difficult for IndyCar to break through and bump the FS1 studio shows off the air on Friday. Like any sports network, there are multiple properties and everyone must get along. The Los Angeles Dodgers-Chicago Cubs game this past Saturday bumped NASCAR practice and qualifying to FS2. If IndyCar is going to be on FS2, it mind as well stay on Peacock. That goes for races as well. If you think Peacock is difficult, wait until you search for FS2.
If there is anything we have learned over the last few months, it is the ceiling is much higher on Peacock. The NFL Wild Card round game between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs drew 23 million viewers on Peacock in January, firmly in the ballpark for a typical NFL game on terrestrial television. If Peacock and streaming platforms aren't holding back the NFL, it shouldn't hold back IndyCar either. There might need to be some work to be done to get more viewers on Peacock, but IndyCar is probably more likely going to match average race viewership on Peacock than Fox Sports 2, where the highest rated program ever on the channel is 582,000 viewers. The average viewership for FS2 in 2023 was 20,000 viewers.
IndyCar must recognize the world in 2024, and see the value in being accessible through a streaming platform while also having races on network and occasionally on cable. Taking the money and tying itself to cable is not a great long-term strategy, especially when it could only be about $5-10 million more in the series' wallet. It would be a limitation to the series if the only way you could view it is requiring people to subscribe for a cable package, something fewer people are subscribing to and those numbers are continuing to go down. It is one thing if Fox was offering more than double the other offer, but that isn't the case. It isn't a transformational amount of money for IndyCar to decide to make a transformational step backward in media distribution.
We are entering an unknown period for motorsports broadcasting in the United States. NASCAR is going to have five races exclusively on Amazon Prime. All of NASCAR's practice and qualifying sessions outside of the Daytona 500, the Busch Clash and All-Star Race will only be available via Amazon Prime or Warner Bros. Discovery's B/R Sports Add-On on the Max platform.
Fox and NBC will remain as NASCAR partners, but only 12 championship Cup races will be on Fox next year, down from 16, in addition to the Clash and All-Star Race. NBC will have only 14 Cup races, down from 20. Any opportunity for IndyCar having synergy with NASCAR coverage on Fox or NBC will decrease next year regardless which is IndyCar's partner. There would only be about four IndyCar races taking place during the Fox portion of the NASCAR season next year, and the Indianapolis 500 would not be one of those. Fox isn't going to have an Indianapolis 500 into Coca-Cola 600 full day of racing. The Charlotte race will be on Amazon Prime.
Even with NBC, it will not be picking up NASCAR until August next year instead of in June like it has. By the time NASCAR starts on NBC, IndyCar will only have about four weekends left in its season. While there are more cable races this year for IndyCar, those have been strategically placed to be either lead-in programming to a Cup race on USA or following a Cup race on USA. There will be fewer opportunities to do such things next year. If there is any saving grace, IMSA will also be on NBC next year, and there are already two weekends that IMSA and IndyCar share a venue, and there will be at least other weekend where an IMSA race leads into an IndyCar race. That isn't a bad thing.
This next television contract isn't just about 2025. It is going to be for the next three or five seasons, and things change quick. That deal will set off the dominoes for the future. IndyCar cannot afford to limit its exposure. It is important it has a contract that has the races be available whether you have digital rabbit ears or are exclusively streaming. This is a crucial time where it all comes down to where 87-year-old Roger Penske decides what is best for the future.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Max Verstappen, but did you know...
William Byron won the NASCAR Cup race at Martinsville, his third victory of the season. Aric Almirola won the Grand National Series race. Christian Eckes won the Truck race, his second victory of the season.
Hunter Yeany (race one) and Nikita Johnson (races two and three) split the USF Pro 2000 races from NOLA Motorsports Park. Max Gracia, Sam Corry and Nico Christodoulou split the U.S. F2000 races.
The #998 ROWE Racing BMW of Augusto Farfus, Dan Harper and Max Hesse won the 3 Hours of Paul Ricard.
The #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche of Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer swept the GT World Challenge America races from Sonoma. The #68 Smooge Racing Toyota of John Geesbreght and Tyler Gonzalez and the #51 AutoTechnic Racing BMW of Colin Garrett and Zac Anderson split the GT4 America. Jason Daskalos and Johnny O'Connell split the GT America.
Coming Up This Weekend
Austin hosts MotoGP.
Texas is busy with NASCAR north up the road in Fort Worth.
Super GT opens at Okayama.
European Le Mans Series opens at Barcelona.
Supercross is back in Foxborough.
Formula E makes its first visit to Misano for a doubleheader.
