Despite enduring a four-hour weather delay, the 108th Indianapolis 500 accumulated a total audience delivery of 5.34 million viewers on NBC, Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms on Sunday, along with a 2.6 rating, according to data from Nielsen Media Research and Adobe Analytics. The performance marks the largest audience for the Indy 500 in the last three years and is up 8% year-over-year from the 4.93 million the race averaged in 2023.
Josef Newgarden of Team Penske won the Indianapolis 500 for a second consecutive year and became the first driver to win consecutive iterations of the event since Helio Castroneves attained the feat in 2002. The event also set a record with 18 drivers leading at least one lap, and the outcome was ultimately decided in the final lap of the 200-lap, 500-mile race.
NBC Sports’ lead INDYCAR broadcast team of Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe called the action, with reporters Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Dave Burns, Dillon Welch, Jeff Burton and Kim Coon. Mike Tirico and Danica Patrick broadcast studio coverage for the sixth consecutive year and were joined by Jimmie Johnson for pre-race and race coverage from the Peacock Pit Box on Pit Lane.
The Indianapolis 500 on NBC peaked at 6.46 million viewers in the 15-minute broadcast window from 7:30 to 7:45 p.m. EST. Additionally, the competition is the most-streamed INDYCAR race ever, garnering an average minute audience of 286,000 viewers on Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms. This is the most-watched Sunday sporting event for NBC Sports since the NFL playoffs in January when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ matchup against the Detroit Lions amassed a total audience delivery of 40.4 million viewers.
NBCUniversal also secured the most-streamed event in U.S. history in January with an average of 23 million viewers tuning in for the exclusive broadcast of the NFL Wild Card matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins on Peacock.
Six races have taken place within the 2024 NTT INDYCAR series and are collectively averaging a total audience delivery of 1.95 million viewers. Five of these broadcasts have been on NBC while one was on USA Network. Viewers can watch NBC Sports’ coverage of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on USA Network and Peacock on Sunday at 12 p.m. EST.
Throughout the weather delay, NBC Sports provided viewers with live updates and an encore presentation of the 2023 race. These programming adjustments ultimately resulted in more than nine hours of broadcast network coverage taking place throughout the day. INDYCAR removed the local blackout of the race in Indianapolis, Ind., which ended up securing an 18.15 household rating and 54 share. The race also coincided with the broadcast of the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on FOX, which will move to Amazon’s Prime Video following the season.
The Indianapolis 500 broadcast performance occurs as INDYCAR’s three-year media rights deal with NBC is set to expire at the end of the season. NBC is reportedly interested in renewing the media rights deal; however, the network could face competition from other broadcast conglomerates. The company has had exclusive rights to INDYCAR since 2019 for a reported $20 million per year after it had previously split those rights with The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC).
NASCAR agreed to seven-year media rights deals for the NASCAR Cup Series beginning in 2025 that includes NBC Sports, FOX Sports, Amazon’s Prime Video and TNT Sports. The Walt Disney Company currently broadcasts Liberty Media-owned Formula 1 as part of a three-year deal with the property that continues through 2025.
