INDYCAR Media secures wide-ranging international broadcast deals

INDYCAR’s exciting 2019 season will be shown worldwide as INDYCAR Media, the in-house global distribution arm of INDYCAR’s international media rights, has secured deals for NTT IndyCar Series action to be shown in approximately 100 nations.

The 17-race season begins this weekend with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida. Qualifying will be held Saturday, with the race on Sunday.

Among the nations reaching agreements to broadcast INDYCAR content in 2019 are Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Spain, Sweden, France, New Zealand and Brazil. See the full list of countries and broadcast partners below.

Notably, in Canada, through INDYCAR’s partnership with Sportsnet, INDYCAR fans will be able to consume NTT IndyCar Series races and qualifying sessions on SN NOW+, Sportsnet’s direct-to-consumer platform. Additionally, all races except for the season opener (due to a scheduling conflict) will air in Canada on Sportsnet World, a Sportsnet linear television channel, with the Indianapolis 500 and the Honda Indy Toronto also airing on linear television via the Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet ONE channels, respectively.

In the United Kingdom, NTT IndyCar Series races, practices and qualifying sessions will air on Sky Sports F1, Sky’s premium motorsports channel. In addition to full-season coverage on linear pay television in Japan and Spain, the Indianapolis 500 also will air on free-to-air television in both countries with NHK and #Vamos (Movistar), respectively. INDYCAR will expand into the Nordics in 2019, and NTT IndyCar Series races can be seen live on Viasat channels in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway.

Rounding out the coverage, DAZN (pronounced Da-Zone), the popular and rapidly growing sports-only subscription video streaming platform, will show NTT IndyCar Series races in Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Brazil.

Stephen Starks, INDYCAR vice president of promoter and media partner relations, has spearheaded the effort for INDYCAR Media, along with London-based Heather White, INDYCAR Media’s licensing point of contact.

“We are pleased to offer this great content to so many people around the world,” Starks said. “These deals represent partnerships between INDYCAR, the broadcast partners and the race fans they reach. We believe that through our media arrangements, more people around the world will now have the opportunity to see the NTT IndyCar Series as the fastest and most diverse racing series available and experience the international flavor of drivers such as five-time series champion Scott Dixon of New Zealand and the return of Fernando Alonso and McLaren Racing to the Indianapolis 500 in May.”

The 103rd Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge will be held Sunday, May 26.

In addition to Dixon, who is the NTT IndyCar Series’ reigning champion, the list of active championship-winning international drivers includes Sebastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud of France, Tony Kanaan of Brazil and Will Power of Australia. Dixon, Kanaan, Power and Japan’s Takuma Sato have each won the Indianapolis 500. Brazil’s Helio Castroneves will return to this year’s Indy 500 bidding to win for a record-tying fourth time.

Canada’s James Hinchcliffe, England’s Max Chilton and NTT IndyCar Series newcomers Marcus Ericsson and Felix Rosenqvist of Sweden are among the other drivers to watch during the 2019 season.

IndyCar PR