{"id":35052,"date":"2025-06-20T00:48:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T04:48:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=35052"},"modified":"2025-06-20T00:48:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T04:48:25","slug":"indycar-race-broadcast-numbers-show-success-with-fox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/06\/20\/indycar-race-broadcast-numbers-show-success-with-fox\/","title":{"rendered":"Indycar\u2019s Broadcast Numbers Are Headed in the Right Direction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After a thrilling race weekend in <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/06\/15\/kyle-kirkwood-conquers-the-night-in-st-louis\/\" target=\"_self\">St. Louis,<\/a> IndyCar is celebrating more than just the race win. The IndyCar race broadcasts have been taking off since switching outlets.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thanks to some schedule changes from Fox, a few races on IndyCar\u2019s calendar had new start times to avoid competing too much with the viewership of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/06\/19\/nascar-craftsman-truck-series-at-pocono-raceway-preview-and-predictions\/\" target=\"_self\">NASCAR.<\/a> One of the major changes made this year was the\u00a0 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 in St. Louis, being turned into a night race.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The race aired on Sunday night, June 15, during a prime time spot at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. That Sunday was also Father\u2019s Day weekend, when most families want sports in the background during their celebrations. But that did not stop fans, new and old alike, from tuning into the excitement.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>IndyCar\u2019s Fox Primetime Slot Paid Off In St Louis<\/b><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_35055\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-35055\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-35055 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/Pato-O_Ward-Bommarito-Automotive-Group-500-By_-James-Black_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m134871-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/Pato-O_Ward-Bommarito-Automotive-Group-500-By_-James-Black_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m134871-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/Pato-O_Ward-Bommarito-Automotive-Group-500-By_-James-Black_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m134871-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/Pato-O_Ward-Bommarito-Automotive-Group-500-By_-James-Black_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m134871-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/Pato-O_Ward-Bommarito-Automotive-Group-500-By_-James-Black_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m134871-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/Pato-O_Ward-Bommarito-Automotive-Group-500-By_-James-Black_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m134871.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-35055\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pato O&#8217; Ward during the Bommarito 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Photo by James Black, Penske Entertainment. 6\/15\/2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Adam Stern at The Sports Business Journal, this year\u2019s broadcast of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 garnered a total of 1.012 million views on Fox. This is an increase of more than 500,000 viewers in comparison to last year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">.<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FOXSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@FoxSports<\/a> got 1.012 million viewers for Sunday night&#8217;s <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IndyCar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@IndyCar<\/a> race <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWTRaceway?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@WWTRaceway<\/a>, up from 537,000 last year on <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/USANetwork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@USANetwork<\/a> when it ran on a Saturday in August. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sEjVTKvOOq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/sEjVTKvOOq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Adam Stern (@A_S12) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/A_S12\/status\/1934986800126370215?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0Not only is this result a major shift from last year, but it shows that Fox is slowly but surely finding their audience and getting views for IndyCar. Whether these viewers are new or old fans, there\u2019s a core group of people who are constantly tuning into the races.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last weekend\u2019s race was the third consecutive race to hit the one million mark in viewership. The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix had 1.061 million viewers, which was a 75% increase from last year. Meanwhile, the Indy 500 had a total of 7.05 million views, which was a 40% increase from 2024.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Formula 1&#8217;s Canadian Grand Prix got 1.9 million viewers and even fewer during the full TV window. This comes after the titan of motorsport announced that the Canadian GP would go head-to-head with the Indy 500 in 2026.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read More:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/06\/10\/2026-indy-500-clashes-with-f1-canadian-gp\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">The 2026 Indianapolis 500 Clashes With F1&#8217;s Canadian Grand Prix<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><b>A Comparison to 2024\u2019s Broadcast\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The recent numbers have shown that Fox has done a good job getting people interested in IndyCar and maintaining their interest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The exception to this is the race at the<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/23\/palou-stuns-during-late-stages-at-thermal-club\/\" target=\"_self\"> Thermal Club<\/a> that many fans have deemed a bit more boring. Last year\u2019s run at Thermal, being an exhibition race and now counting for championship points, didn\u2019t do much to gain interest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, since then, the races have seen an increase in viewership across the board. When IndyCar was airing on NBC, little adjustments, such as schedule changes, weren\u2019t made. Fox is taking the sport and allowing a bit of a spotlight to shine on IndyCar without having to compete against other racing series for views.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>What Is Next For IndyCar in 2025?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are nine races left in the season. Something to keep an eye out for is how steady the viewership is from now until the end of August. The next race is at <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/06\/09\/road-america-2024-how-will-power-ended-his-2-year-win-drought\/\" target=\"_self\">Road America,<\/a> a fan favorite and a track many of the drivers have said they enjoy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the time change benefited the race in St. Louis, other races have had their broadcast times change in hopes of replicating the success seen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\u2757\ufe0f PRIMETIME ALERT \u2757\ufe0f<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/INDYCAR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#INDYCAR<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FOXSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@FOXSports<\/a> reveal updated start times, including the first-ever primetime network race at St. Louis on June 15. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6FWZE0Nsmc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/6FWZE0Nsmc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IndyCar\/status\/1922622926966137180?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are the key races to follow in terms of viewership. Can IndyCar keep up this streak of increased viewership? Could this be the beginning of the resurgence the series has needed? Time and viewers will only tell.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Read Next:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/06\/15\/kyle-kirkwood-conquers-the-night-in-st-louis\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Kyle Kirkwood Conquers The Night In St. Louis<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Photo:\u00a0<\/strong>James Black, Penske Entertainment<\/p>\n<p>Recording Date: 6\/15\/2025<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a thrilling race weekend in St. Louis, IndyCar is celebrating more than just the race win. The IndyCar race broadcasts have been taking off since switching outlets.\u00a0\u00a0 Thanks to some schedule changes from Fox, a few races on IndyCar\u2019s calendar had new start times to avoid competing too much with the viewership of NASCAR. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5230,"featured_media":35056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,1663],"tags":[1834,644,1188,634],"class_list":["post-35052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-indycar","category-ntt-indycar-series","tag-indycar-schedule","tag-iowa-speedway","tag-mid-ohio-sports-car-course","tag-road-america"],"modified_by":"Hayden Murdock","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5230"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35052"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35058,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35052\/revisions\/35058"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}