“MUST BE MAY” – NBC SPORTS TO PRESENT 100+ HOURS OF NTT INDYCAR SERIES COVERAGE THIS MONTH

NBC Sports’ First-Ever Broadcast of Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge Set for May 26 at 11 am ET on NBC; Pre-Race Show on NBCSN Begins at 9 am ET

INDYCAR Grand Prix Begins May 11 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, Network’s First-Ever IndyCar Broadcast

Drive Like Andretti Documentary on Racing Legend Mario Andretti Premieres May 11 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC

NBC Sports Gold’s “INDYCAR Pass” to Stream 60 Hours in May; Price Discounted This Month to $39.99

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 1, 2019 – With NBC Sports gearing up to present more than 100 hours of NTT IndyCar Series coverage this month, including the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 and the INDYCAR Grand Prix, it “Must be May.” The unprecedented month-long coverage includes extensive practice, qualifying and race programming across NBC, NBCSN, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and NBC Sports Gold, as well as the premiere of Drive Like Andretti, the one-hour documentary about the life of racing legend Mario Andretti.

Following is a rundown of NBC Sports’ IndyCar coverage in May:

INDIANAPOLIS 500

The 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge will be the first ever on NBC. Coverage begins on Sunday, May 26, with eight hours of programming: a pre-race show on NBCSN at 9 am ET; race coverage at 11 am ET on NBC; and a post-race show at 4 pm ET on NBCSN.

Time (ET) Event Network 9 am ET Pre-race NBCSN 11 am ET Race NBC 4 pm ET Post-race NBCSN

NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold’s “INDYCAR Pass” will combine to provide 13 hours of Indy 500 qualifying coverage, beginning Saturday, May 18, exclusively for “INDYCAR Pass” subscribers from 11 am – 5 pm ET before shifting to NBCSN at 5 pm ET. The final qualifying session, which will determine which driver earns the pole position, airs Sunday, May 19, from 12-3 pm ET on NBC.

NBC Sports Gold is NBC Sports’ direct-to-consumer live streaming subscription service, and will live stream 60 hours of IndyCar content this month. A special $15 discount is now being offered, reducing the season-long subscription price to $34.99.

Practice coverage for this year’s Indy 500 begins with a seven-hour session on Tuesday, May 14, on “INDYCAR Pass.” In all, “INDYCAR Pass” will exclusively live stream 29.5 hours of Indy 500 practice coverage between May 14-18. NBCSN will also provide coverage of some practice sessions.

NBCSN and “INDYCAR Pass” will also combine to provide coverage of Indy 500 Carb Day, the IPL 500 Festival Parade, and the Indy 500 Victory Banquet.

Following is NBC Sports’ programming schedule for the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 and all events surrounding it this month:

Date Time (ET) Event Platform May 14 11 a.m. Indy 500 Practice NBC Sports Gold May 15 11 a.m. Indy 500 Practice NBC Sports Gold May 16 11 a.m. Indy 500 Practice NBC Sports Gold May 17 11 a.m. Indy 500 Practice NBC Sports Gold May 18 8 a.m. Indy 500 Practice NBC Sports Gold 11 a.m. Indy 500 Qualifying NBC Sports Gold 5 p.m. Indy 500 Qualifying NBCSN/NBC Sports Gold May 19 12 p.m. Indy 500 Qualifying NBC 3 p.m. Indy 500 Qualifying NBCSN May 20 12 p.m. Indy 500 Practice NBCSN 6 p.m. IndyCar Live from the Indy 500 NBCSN May 21 6 p.m. IndyCar Live from the Indy 500 NBCSN May 22 6 p.m. IndyCar Live from the Indy 500 NBCSN May 23 6 p.m. IndyCar Live from the Indy 500 NBCSN May 24 11 a.m. Indy 500 Carb Day NBCSN/NBC Sports Gold 1 p.m. IndyLights – Firestone 100 NBCSN/NBC Sports Gold 2 p.m. Indy 500 Carb Day NBCSN/NBC Sports Gold May 25 11:45 a.m. Indy 500 Parade NBC Sports Gold 4 p.m. Indy 500 Parade NBCSN May 26 9 a.m. Indy 500 Series Pre Race NBCSN 11 a.m. Indy 500 Pre Race NBC 12 p.m. Indianapolis 500 Race NBC 3:30 p.m. Indy 500 Post Race NBC 4 p.m. Indy 500 Post Race NBCSN May 27 7:30 p.m. Red Carpet/Indy 500 Banquet Show NBC Sports Gold

Note: All television coverage on NBC and NBCSN live streams via authentication on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

INDYCAR GRAND PRIX

The 2019 INDYCAR Grand Prix will be the first IndyCar race to ever air on NBC. Coverage airs Saturday, May 11, from 3-6 pm ET. It’s preceded on Friday, May 10 by practice and qualifying coverage across “INDYCAR Pass” and NBCSN.

Date Event Time (ET) Platform Friday, May 10 Practice 9:10 am INDYCAR Pass Practice 12:30 pm INDYCAR Pass Practice 1:30 pm INDYCAR Pass Qualifying 4:30 pm INDYCAR Pass/NBCSN Saturday, May 11 Race 3 pm NBC

DRIVE LIKE ANDRETTI

NBC Sports Films celebrates the life of Mario Andretti with Drive Like Andretti – a documentary featuring Andretti’s first-person account as a refugee, immigrant, cultural icon and racing legend – ahead of NBC Sports’ presentation of the 2019 Indianapolis 500, which marks the 50th anniversary of Andretti’s victory at the Brickyard in 1969.

Drive Like Andretti will debut on Saturday, May 11 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, leading into NTT IndyCar Series coverage of the INDYCAR Grand Prix at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. There will be numerous encores on NBCSN.

Drive Like Andretti follows Andretti – the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500, and a Formula 1 World Championship – as he recounts his improbable journey, beginning as a war refugee in Italy and concluding as the most famous racecar driver on Earth.

The documentary features interviews with several celebrities across entertainment and popular culture who discuss Andretti’s profound impact beyond the race track, including; Ludacris, Ice-T, Jay Leno, Tim Allen, Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASA Apollo 10 astronaut Gen. Thomas P. Stafford, and journalist A.J. Baime.

Click here to watch Leno discuss Andretti’s influence and the memory of interviewing Mario on The Tonight Show.

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Additional IndyCar programming in May includes: IndyLights coverage exclusively on NBC Sports Gold’s “INDYCAR Pass” on May 10-11 and May 24; IndyCar Off the Grid on May 22-23 on NBCSN; and practice for the Detroit Grand Prix on May 31 on “INDYCAR Pass” and NBCSN.

2019 NTT INDYCAR SERIES VIEWERSHIP

With St. Petersburg, Circuit of the Americas, Barber and Long Beach complete, NBC Sports’ coverage of the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series is averaging a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of nearly 400,000 viewers (397,000) across NBCSN, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, up 21% vs. its first four races of 2018* (327,000) and NBCSN’s second-best start to a season in eight years , according to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.

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The 2019 season is the first of a new media rights agreement that was announced in March 2018 between INDYCAR and NBC Sports Group in which NBC Sports acquired the exclusive rights to all NTT IndyCar Series races, qualifying and practice sessions, and Indy Lights races across its numerous platforms. Prior to this season, NBC Sports only had cable rights to a portion of the season. Click here for more information.

For more information, click here.

–NBC SPORTS–