IndyCar, NBC Sports Closer To Starting Renewal Talks

IndyCar is beginning to talk to NBC Sports about when renewal negotiations can start on their media-rights deal, according to series CEO Mark Miles. IndyCar moved its full-season rights to NBC ahead of the ’19 season after previously spitting the package between NBC and ABC/ESPN; it expires after the ’21 season. Miles also signaled that IndyCar expects to extend with series title sponsor NTT as well as about half of its promoter deals. The financial value of the deal is unclear.

When asked about having to work on several major renewals in '21, Miles said, “There’ a full plate, but we’re really confident in all of those arrangements and some new ones we hope to bring on in addition. NBC is foundational: we’re committed to each other through next year and talking now about when we’ll talk about after that, but both parties are interested. … NTT, we expect, will be extended and probably is something we can announce or formalize presumably by the end of the year.”