- Series’ current deal with NBC is worth around US$20m per year
- Fox’s motorsport offering includes 14 Nascar Cup Series races and the NHRA series
- 2024 Nashville season finale moves to Nashville Superspeedway
Fox is making a strong play for the domestic rights to the IndyCar open-wheel motorsport series, according to Racer.
The North American series’ current broadcast agreement with NBC, worth a reported US$20 million annually, expires at the end of this season.
Fox is reportedly seriously considering acquiring the IndyCar rights and views the series as a ‘high-value property’ that would boost its motorsport rights portfolio. The pay-TV broadcaster acquired a package of 14 Nascar Cup Series races last year, with the stock car racing series and the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) making up the bulk of Fox’s motorsport programming.
It is understood that Fox Sports chief executive Eric Shanks went to at least one IndyCar race last year as a guest and was visited by the series on a recent trip to Los Angeles.
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“On Fox, I can confirm that they have been interested,” Mark Miles, chief executive of Penske Entertainment, told Racer. “They’ve been in discussions with us from when we first began the process to market our rights for 2025.
“They’re fans of IndyCar and the Indianapolis 500 race. They built a reputation for doing a great job in the way they tell stories and in the way they produce events. I think they’re eager to see what they could do in that regard with the [Indianapolis] 500 and with IndyCar.”
Miles added that the series remains in discussions with other interested broadcasters. Sports Business Journal (SBJ) reported last month that IndyCar has held talks with incumbent broadcast partner NBC, as well as The CW, Apple and Fox.
The series is pursuing a domestic rights fee increase ahead of its next broadcast renewal and has hired Endeavor’s IMG Media division to lead the process.
Elsewhere in IndyCar, the series has confirmed that this year’s season-ending Music City Grand Prix in Nashville will be moved from the city’s streets to the Nashville Superspeedway.
The move comes due to the construction of the Tennessee Titans’ new stadium, which has made it hard for a street circuit to be formed without affecting businesses based in downtown Nashville.
The event, which will take place on 15th September, marks the first time that the IndyCar season finale will take place on an oval track since 2014.
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