Indy 500 will soon have a new TV network

INDIANAPOLIS — IndyCar is no longer a house divided. Beginning in 2019, all of IndyCar’s races will be broadcast on NBC and its properties.

The three-year deal, which NBC Sports Group confirmed Wednesday morning, puts an end to a year’s worth of negotiations and a decade of the series splitting races between NBC and ABC.

Uniting the series under a sole broadcasting banner has long been among the top priorities of IndyCar CEO Mark Miles and series stakeholders. Among the biggest benefits is that Miles and IndyCar will now be able to leverage their crown jewel, the Indianapolis 500, to promote the series’ other events.

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The partnership also increases the number of races that will be broadcast on NBC proper rather than one of its cable channels. NBC will broadcast eight races, including the 500, beginning in 2019, while NBCSN will carry the remaining the events. All races will be streamed lived to subscribers on NBSSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

"All in all, this is a solid deal," said Ken Ungar a former Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy Racing League (now IndyCar) executive and owner and president of Charge, a locally based sports marketing consultancy. "The fact that it’s all within one network group gives it the possibility of speaking to series with a singular voice, and I think to me, from marketing perspective, putting eight races on network is a big leap forward for the series. ... This is a deal sponsors want to see."

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NBC Sports Gold – NBC’s direct-to-consumer product – will also supply IndyCar programming. It will stream all non-televised qualifying and practices sessions, all Indy Lights races and full-event replays. More details, including the cost of the Gold offering, will be announced later.

“This arrangement brings all of INDYCAR to one home, increases our exposure and includes our first direct-to-consumer offer for our fans,” Miles said in a news release. “We couldn’t be happier to have start-to-finish coverage of INDYCAR’s season with the NBC Sports Group.”

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

As part of this new alignment, the 500 will be included in NBC Sports’ Championship Season campaign, which includes illustrious events such as horse racing’s Triple Crown, the French Open, the Stanley Cup Final, the Tour de France and The Open Championship.

“We’re excited to have NBC Sports serve as the exclusive home of IndyCar, which represents the most competitive open-wheel racing in the world,” said Jon Miller, president of programming at NBC Sports and NBCSN. “We’re honored to bring the Indianapolis 500, one of the most prestigious events in all of sports, to NBC, further enhancing NBC Sports’ Championship Season. We’ve seen consistent growth for IndyCar on NBCSN in the past decade, and we hope to continue that growth throughout the series by leveraging the television, digital, production and marketing assets that make NBC Sports a powerful media partner."

IndyCar is undoubtedly hoping to build on its past couple of years of a successful partnership with NBC. According to the series, TV ratings on NBCSN increased three percent last year, averaging about 507,000 viewers per race.

Miles told IndyStar recently that he aims to double IndyCar's average TV ratings in the coming years and expects that to be possible with so many races moving to broadcast TV. He also expects to increase the viewership for the Indy 500, which has been around a 4.0 the past few years.

"That ought to double," said Miles, "Doubling the ratings won't happen next year, but that's our ambition."

Miles has said all along that as the media landscape continues to evolve, a relatively shorter deal makes the most sense for IndyCar, so that the series isn't stuck in an outdated deal.

Ungar thinks IndyCar might have hit the sweet-spot with these terms.

"A positive deal that is for multiple years creates stability, and stability foster growth," Ungar said. "One of the most attractive qualities of this deal is the built-in over-the-top offering. That's where you're seeing the big tectonic shifts in broadcasting, is from the old terrestrial model to the OTT model. With OTT built into the deal, it's less likely they'll be completely surpassed by technological advances. It's a deal that has technology in mind. Even if this were longer term, it wouldn't hurt either partner."

Wednesday’s announcement means that next year's 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 will be the first time the Greatest Spectacle in Racing isn't broadcast on ABC since 1965. This year's running will mark its the 54th consecutive appearance on ABC.

The second race of the Detroit doubleheader, one week after the 500, will be the final race IndyCar race to air on ABC.

“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," said Burke Magnus, ESPN Executive Vice President, Programming & Scheduling. "We look forward to the rest of our events this season and wish them all the best in the future.”

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