Fox Fuels IndyCar’s Best Start in Years With 1.4M Viewers

The IndyCar Series had a strong debut race on Fox Sports, as Sunday’s 2025 season opener drew 1.4 million viewers on the main Fox broadcast network, according to Nielsen ratings. 

Fox has taken over IndyCar’s media rights from NBC Sports, which was the league’s sole TV partner from 2019 to 2024. Fox is believed to be paying roughly $25 million annually for IndyCar rights.

The TV ratings for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg are up 45% from last year’s race, which drew an audience of 974,700. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Álex Palou beat his teammate, Scott Dixon, to take home the checkered flag in Florida. 

Sunday’s race was also the most-watched non–Indianapolis 500 IndyCar broadcast since 2011. Last year’s Indy 500 drew an average of 5.34 million viewers on NBC, which was up 8% over 2023.

All 17 IndyCar Series races this season will be shown on the main Fox broadcast network, giving the circuit more reach than it previously had—something IndyCar CEO Mark Miles previously told Front Office Sports was a priority. In 2024, NBC aired 10 of the 18 race broadcasts, the USA Network cable channel showed six, and Peacock had two exclusive streams.

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The IndyCar race may have provided a boost to Fox’s NASCAR broadcast Sunday, too, or vice versa. The network drew 4.13 million viewers for Christopher Bell’s victory at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, which is up 25% over the 2024 race. IndyCar and NASCAR aired back-to-back at noon and 3:30 p.m. ET, respectively.

Fox is also in the first year of new media rights for NASCAR, which total $7.7 billion over seven years, with the addition of Amazon and TNT Sports, alongside incumbents Fox and NBC Sports. The Fox Sports NASCAR schedule will run through the All-Star Race on May 18.

Last month’s Daytona 500 drew 6.76 million viewers, which was the most-watched sporting event of a crowded weekend that included the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off and NBA All-Star festivities.