Shockwaves spread across the motorsports industry when the deal between Fox and IndyCar came to light. While details of the exact terms weren’t released between the two parties, the deal was described as a ‘historic’ one, as the series moved away from NBC for the first time since 2009. The Roger Penske-owned racing series had received an estimated $20 million in annual revenue from NBC. So speculation ran rampant about how much more money Fox Sports had offered after months of intense negotiations.

As it turns out, money did not emerge as the motivating factor that led to the switch. According to CEO Mark Miles, IndyCar opted to switch to Fox Sports for simply one key reason. Despite receiving more lucrative financial terms from another bidder, they opted to close a deal with Fox due to this reason.

Roger Penske’s racing series has a long-term outlook

In many ways, IndyCar has fallen short of other motorsports competitions when it comes to broadcasting revenue. NASCAR has recently signed a $7.7 billion media rights deal which will be divided over seven years. The likes of NBC, Fox, Amazon, and Warner Bros Discovery will be splitting the Cup Series schedule from the 2025 season onwards. Meanwhile, The CW network acquired the media rights for NASCAR’s second-tier, the Xfinity Series. Perhaps they borrowed their strategy from F1. Formula 1 has an annual domestic media rights deal amounting to $75-90M, a stark contrast from what IndyCar was earning from NBC Sports.

However, IndyCar CEO Mark Miles has revealed that despite higher financial incentives, the racing series opted for Fox Sports because it provides better exposure. While not revealing the specifics, Miles said, “We did not do the deal which would have afforded us the greatest rights fee. This is the deal that made economic sense but more so was far and away the greatest reach, and that — you could think about it as our willingness to invest by taking less for the growth of the sport through the greater reach.”

While it’s unclear who the rival bidder was, speculation suggests that NBC Sports was keen to renew its partnership with IndyCar. The 71-year-old sports executive isn’t looking back on the decision made by Roger Penske’s racing series. He said that they “couldn’t be more excited and more confident in the decision and relationships that we’ll develop – Fox Sports is going to help grow this sport.” As part of the ‘exposure’, IndyCar hopes that Fox Sports will use coverage of the NFL and MLB to promote their new race: the Grand Prix of Arlington, which begins in 2026.

The Super Bowl also presents a stellar opportunity for IndyCar to gain visibility among sports enthusiasts. According to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, an average of 123.4 million viewers watched Kansas City defeat San Francisco in this year’s game. This emerges as a 7% increase from last year’s iteration. Roger Penske seems to have a long-term outlook for IndyCar. Getting it to the forefront will help the sport gain more popularity. This, in turn, would help the racing series negotiate better financial terms in the future if they have the numbers to back it up.

An insight into Fox Sports’ deal with IndyCar

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It hasn’t happened since 1978. Fox Sports will be the first broadcaster in over 40 years to air the Daytona 500 in February and the Indianapolis 500 in May. In many ways, the television network’s agreement with Roger Penske’s IndyCar is a massive deal. The deal presents the opportunity to give fans of the racing series a one-stop destination for all 17 races of the 2025 season. Fox will also cover Indy 500 qualifications on both Saturday and Sunday. This makes IndyCar the only premier motorsport series with an exclusive broadcaster for all races.

Speaking about the partnership, IndyCar CEO Mark Miles said, “This represents unrivaled exposure and provides an unparalleled growth opportunity for the most competitive and entertaining motorsport on the planet. FOX Sports is a fully committed partner, ready to bring engaging and technically innovative coverage to millions of fans across the country while also promoting IndyCar thoroughly across all its platforms.”

The 2025 IndyCar season will begin on Sunday, March 2nd at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The season concludes on Sunday, August 31 with the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, just in time before the NFL season begins. Fox Sports will have a five-hour-long coverage for the Indy 500, with practice and qualifying being aired on FS1 and FS2. The Roger Penske-owned racing series has seen a significant growth trajectory lately, with increased attendance for its races, growth in commercial partnerships, and a boost in engagement across its digital platforms. The future looks bright for IndyCar. All it needs to do is keep up the momentum going forward.