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- IndyCar to go to market in Q4 this year
- Current deal reportedly worth around US$20m per year
- Milwaukee Mile likely to join 2024 calendar
IndyCar has hired Endeavor’s IMG Media division ahead of its next media rights cycle.
The US-based series current deal with NBC Sports expires in 2024, and Penske Entertainment president and chief executive told Sports Business Journal (SBJ) Mark Miles confirmed to SBJ that Endeavor’s Karen Brodkin and IMG Media’s Hillary Mandel will lead the process.
IndyCar is looking to enter the media rights market in Q4 this year and, while the series enjoys its current relationship with NBC Sports, it is evaluating all potential options from 2025 onwards.
NBC first secured IndyCar rights exclusively in 2019, having previously shared them with ABC. NBC signed its most recent extension in 2021, with the three-year deal being worth around US$20 million annually, according to SBJ.
Speaking to SBJ, Miles is confident “that there will be multiple platforms with interest in our rights” and the series is “looking to make another leap up in rights fees and overall economic growth”. He is also keen “to hear what the big streamers have to say” as a full or part-streaming package are being considered.
Next summer, NBC will have its full attention on the 2024 Paris Olympics, so there is likely to be a mid-season break when the 2024 calendar is finalised.
On the topic of next season’s calendar, the long-awaited return of Milwaukee Mile appears on the cusp of confirmation. Miles told SBJ that the circuit is “very likely” to be on next year’s schedule.