FOX secures TV ratings boost for IndyCar season – Sports News
FOX’s inaugural IndyCar race attracted 1.417 million viewers, making it the most-watched series event outside of the Indianapolis 500 on any network since 2011.
Sunday’s opener in downtown St. Petersburg saw a 45 percent increase in viewership compared to last year’s event, which drew 974,700 combined viewers on NBC. The FOX broadcast peaked with 1,820,000 viewers from 2:15-2:26 p.m. Local market ratings will be available later this week.
This season, IndyCar ended its 16-year partnership with NBC Sports and entered into a multi-year agreement with FOX. The new deal promises high-quality production and promotion, which kicked off in January with glossy commercials featuring three of the series stars during the NFL Playoffs and the Super Bowl.
IndyCar has a strong ally in FOX Sports CEO Eric Shanks, an Indiana native with a passion for both the series and the Indianapolis 500. He is committed to elevating IndyCar back to the top echelons of motorsports.
Despite the extensive promotion, including during NASCAR’s Daytona 500 and other Fox Sports programming, Shanks admitted to The Associated Press that some people might still be searching online on Sunday to find out which network is broadcasting the IndyCar race – a situation he hopes to rectify.
This year, all 17 races and both Indianapolis 500 qualifying sessions will be aired on FOX, making IndyCar the only major motorsports series to broadcast its entire schedule on network television. Sunday’s opener, which saw a 1-2 finish for Chip Ganassi Racing with Alex Palou and Scott Dixon, was particularly notable as NBC Sports uses the TAD (total audience delivery) metric that includes live streaming. FOX does not use TAD as it is not recognized by Nielsen Media Research data.
The race attracted an additional 425,300 viewers over NBC Sports, making it the most-watched IndyCar race on network television in 14 years, excluding the Indy 500. The 2011 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Dan Wheldon tragically lost his life, drew 2,448,000 viewers on ABC.
FOX also reported that Friday’s opening practice broadcast on its FOX Sports 1 cable channel attracted 95,000 viewers.
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