IndyCar, NBC utilizing first half of season to evaluate media rights

IndyCar's media-rights contract that began in '19 expires at the end of this year, painting the "first half of the season as an audition of sorts" for both IndyCar and broadcast partner NBC, according to Nathan Brown of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR. The success of IndyCar’s first eight races -- six on network TV -- "could very well be a major factor in how these negotiations play out." Speed Sport's Bruce Martin reported that NBC is "prepared to renew the deal at the same rate for an unknown number of years, while series owner Roger Penske is looking for a sizable rate increase." Brown writes it "stands to reason that this year’s front-loaded IndyCar schedule, in terms of NBC broadcasts (six in the first eight, three in the final nine) allows both parties to be able to sit down in June, having seen how the Indy 500 is received on television, after a freefall in ratings a year ago in an unusual date." IndyCar President & CEO Mark Miles: "We won’t conclude a deal without having a pretty clear sense of the appetites of all the broadcasters and the streamers. So we’re having conversations to understand what levels of interest there might be related to IndyCar. We have a great relationship with NBC. They’ve been a really good partner, and there’s no question they’d like to extend." Miles added that the series has "spoken to out-of-the-box suitors like Amazon and Apple" (INDIANPOLIS STAR, 4/30).