Scott Dixon among those thrilled NBC — not ABC — landed IndyCar’s exclusive broadcasting rights

INDIANAPOLIS – Scott Dixon is a driver who knows what he likes. The four-time IndyCar champion is as particular about how much information he gets from his spotter over the radio as he is about how his car is set up on race day. So it should come as no surprise that he has a pretty clear preference when it comes to which network he’d rather watch a Verizon IndyCar Series race on.

That would be NBC, Dixon said. No doubt about it.

“I think the booth on NBC are really energetic and knowledgeable,” Dixon told IndyStar recently. “They do a fantastic job of knowing the sport and telling a story and making the most of it. I think that’s what I was most looking forward to. I think (NBC play-by-play announcer) Leigh (Diffey) and those guys do a really good job.”

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Fortunately for Dixon, who frequently watches the TV broadcast days later to get a sense of how race strategy played out, NBC and its family of channels will be the only place to find Indy car races in 2019. After what was said to be a heated battle between ABC and NBC to secure IndyCar’s exclusive broadcasting rights, NBC emerged with a three-year deal that guarantees eight IndyCar races — including the Indianapolis 500 — will be broadcast on NBC. IndyCar's current deal only guarantees five of its 17 races are on broadcast TV, all on ABC.

Dixon was thrilled when he learned of the increased exposure for the series and his new sponsor, PNC Bank. The Chip Ganassi Racing star also was quite pleased that for the next three years IndyCar fans will be entertained and informed by the network that he believes best packages their product.

“(IndyCar) definitely picked the right one as far as the booth goes,” Dixon said with a chuckle. “That’s as nice as I can put it.”

Dixon isn’t the only one who feels that way. Another veteran driver, who wished to remain anonymous, said NBC employs a much savvier roster of personalities, which includes Diffey and former IndyCar drivers Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell.

“The NBC broadcast booth has a much better feel for the racing, the paddock and has a lot more energy,” said the driver. “I’d like to see them keep a lot of the same personalities for next year.”

ABC's relationship with IndyCar comes to an end after the early-June doubleheader in Detroit. The Disney-owned network broadcast the IndyCar season-opener on the streets of St. Petersburg and will also showcase the IndyCar Grand Prix and, for the 54th consecutive time, the Indianapolis 500.

Fellow IndyCar veteran Tony Kanaan is a fan of both of IndyCar’s current broadcast partners. The 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner told IndyStar that he didn’t have a preference between the two and that he’s simply happy that after nearly a decade of of being split between two networks, all of IndyCar’s races will be under one broadcasting roof.

“We needed a change, one way or the other, “ said Kanaan, who interestingly added that he can see a not-too-distant future where he’s holding a microphone rather than a steering wheel come race days. “I’m not saying I’m happy because it’s ABC or NBC. To me it didn’t matter. I just think we needed something better than what we had. Hopefully going to one network is a lot less confusing for some fans and obviously eight races on a network is really important, because a lot of people don’t have cable. I think we’re getting back to how we used to be back in the day, so I’m extremely happy about that. IndyCar did an awesome job.”

Kanaan said he’s already reaping some benefits of the IndyCar-NBC announcement in late March. The A.J. Foyt Racing driver said he has picked up his phone more than a couple of times to chat with a happy sponsor thrilled about the increased exposure and open to discussing an expanded relationship.

That shouldn’t come as a surprise, as IndyCar driver and new national Honda spokesman James Hinchcliffe predicted such an outcome was not only possible but probably when the deal was announced.

“Overnight, with a 40 percent increase in network races, that’s a huge boost in value,” Hinchcliffe said. "The (new TV deal) will really strengthen teams’ positions in future negotiations and from our perspective as drivers, we’re each our own brand, and the more eyeballs on us, the more valuable we are to potential partners.”

Follow IndyStar Motor Sports Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter and Facebook: @jimayello.