INDYCAR Grand Prix on NBC Averages Total Audience Delivery of 1.072 Million Viewers, Up 37% vs. 2018 Race on ABC
NBC Sports’ Extensive “Must Be May” INDYCAR Programming Continues This Week with Indianapolis 500 Practice and Qualifying Coverage
STAMFORD, Conn. – May 13, 2019 – Saturday afternoon’s INDYCAR Grand Prix from Indianapolis Motor Speedway – the first-ever NTT IndyCar Series race to air on the NBC broadcast network – averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.072 million viewers, making it the most-watched INDYCAR Grand Prix in five years, and up 37% vs. last year’s race on ABC, according to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.
Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud won the exciting, rain-soaked race at IMS by passing Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing on the next-to-last lap to register his first victory since the 2017 season finale at Sonoma.
The TAD of 1.072 million viewers for the sixth INDYCAR Grand Prix was the best since the inaugural race in 2014 (1.244 million viewers) and up 37% vs. last year (781,000). Viewership for the race peaked with a TV-only audience of 1.414 million viewers during the final laps of Pagneaud’s exciting victory (5:45-5:52 p.m. ET). Indianapolis led all markets with a 6.65 local rating.
Following are the Top 5 markets for the 2019 INDYCAR Grand Prix:
| Rank | Market | Rating |
| 1 | Indianapolis | 6.65 |
| 2 | Ft. Myers-Naples | 1.87 |
| 3 | Louisville | 1.62 |
| 4 | Dayton | 1.58 |
| t5 | San Diego | 1.57 |
| t5 | St. Louis | 1.57 |
Through five races, the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series has averaged a TAD of 536,000 viewers across four races on NBCSN and one on NBC, up 51% vs. NBC Sports’ first five races of 2018, all on NBCSN (354,000).
INDIANAPOLIS 500 PROGRAMMING BEGINS
The 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge will be the first ever on NBC. Coverage begins on Sunday, May 26, with eight hours of programming: a pre-race show on NBCSN at 9 a.m. ET; race coverage at 11 a.m. ET on NBC; and a post-race show at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
| Time (ET) | Event | Network |
| 9 a.m. ET | Pre-race | NBCSN |
| 11 a.m. ET | Race | NBC |
| 4 p.m. ET | Post-race | NBCSN |
NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold’s “INDYCAR Pass” will combine to provide 13 hours of Indy 500 qualifying coverage, beginning Saturday, May 18, exclusively for “INDYCAR Pass” subscribers from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET before shifting to NBCSN at 5 p.m. ET. The final qualifying session, which will determine which driver earns the pole position, airs Sunday, May 19, from 12-3 p.m. ET on NBC.
NBC Sports Gold is NBC Sports’ direct-to-consumer live streaming subscription service and will live stream 60 hours of IndyCar content this month. A special $15 discount is now being offered, reducing the season-long subscription price to $39.99.
Practice coverage for this year’s Indy 500 begins with a seven-hour session tomorrow – Tuesday, May 14 – on “INDYCAR Pass.” In all, “INDYCAR Pass” will exclusively live stream 29.5 hours of Indy 500 practice coverage between May 14-18. NBCSN will also provide coverage of some practice sessions.
NBCSN and “INDYCAR Pass” will also combine to provide coverage of Indy 500 Carb Day, the IPL 500 Festival Parade, and the Indy 500 Victory Banquet.
Following is NBC Sports’ programming schedule for the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 and all events surrounding it this month:
| Date | Time (ET) | Event | Platform |
| May 14 | 11 a.m. | Indy 500 Practice | NBC Sports Gold |
| May 15 | 11 a.m. | Indy 500 Practice | NBC Sports Gold |
| May 16 | 11 a.m. | Indy 500 Practice | NBC Sports Gold |
| May 17 | 11 a.m. | Indy 500 Practice | NBC Sports Gold |
| May 18 | 8 a.m. | Indy 500 Practice | NBC Sports Gold |
| 11 a.m. | Indy 500 Qualifying | NBC Sports Gold | |
| 5 p.m. | Indy 500 Qualifying | NBCSN/NBC Sports Gold | |
| May 19 | 12 p.m. | Indy 500 Qualifying | NBC |
| 3 p.m. | Indy 500 Qualifying | NBCSN | |
| May 20 | 12 p.m. | Indy 500 Practice | NBCSN |
| 6 p.m. | IndyCar Live from the Indy 500 | NBCSN | |
| May 21 | 6 p.m. | IndyCar Live from the Indy 500 | NBCSN |
| May 22 | 6 p.m. | IndyCar Live from the Indy 500 | NBCSN |
| May 23 | 6 p.m. | IndyCar Live from the Indy 500 | NBCSN |
| May 24 | 11 a.m. | Indy 500 Carb Day | NBCSN/NBC Sports Gold |
| 1 p.m. | IndyLights - Firestone 100 | NBCSN/NBC Sports Gold | |
| 2 p.m. | Indy 500 Carb Day | NBCSN/NBC Sports Gold | |
| May 25 | 11:45 a.m. | Indy 500 Parade | NBC Sports Gold |
| 4 p.m. | Indy 500 Parade | NBCSN | |
| May 26 | 9 a.m. | Indy 500 Pre Race | NBCSN |
| 11 a.m. | Indy 500 Pre Race | NBC | |
| 12 p.m. | Indianapolis 500 Race | NBC | |
| 3:30 p.m. | Indy 500 Post Race | NBC | |
| 4 p.m. | Indy 500 Post Race | NBCSN | |
| May 27 | 7:30 p.m. | Red Carpet/Indy 500 Banquet Show | NBC Sports Gold |
Note: All television coverage on NBC and NBCSN live streams via authentication on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
--NBC SPORTS--