The Indianapolis 500 was synonymous with ABC for decades, having aired there since the first live race broadcast 1986. The 2019 edition, though, was the first on NBC, and while ratings aren’t everything, the early returns have to be encouraging for the new network home.
As you’d expect for a lengthy race, the audience was largest for the finish, which featured a tense ending:
The final numbers will be interesting, especially once the various streaming data is taken into acccount.
The Indy 500 is an event that fits in nicely with NBC’s wider rights packages, and it’s an event that might have needed a change of scenery. Whether it can ever be a true must-watch sporting event again remains to be seen, but those are growing more rare as it is anyway, given the constant competition for attention.
About Jay Rigdon
Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.