INDIANAPOLIS — Sunday’s 110th Indianapolis 500 received 6.635 million viewers on Fox. The race peaked with 8.349 million viewers from 4 to 4:15 p.m., as Felix Rosenqvist beat David Malukas to the finish line by 0.0233 seconds in the closest Indy 500 finish ever.
The rating is a 6% decrease from last year, when the Indy 500 broadcast averaged 7.05 million viewers on Fox. Both races benefited from the central Indiana blackout being lifted by IMS as a result of the venue selling out its over 230,000 grandstand seats.
Fox is in its second year broadcasting IndyCar and the Indy 500 after NBC held the series’ broadcast rights from 2019 to 2024. Fox has put every IndyCar race over the past two seasons on network television, rather than putting some races on cable channels or streaming services, as NBC did.
Last summer, following the Indy 500 and in the middle of the IndyCar season, Fox purchased a one-third stake in IndyCar’s parent company, Penske Entertainment. After investing in IndyCar, Fox’s marketing of IndyCar has heightened with promotions like running IndyCar commercials during NFL playoff games, revealing Curt Cignetti as the Indy 500 pace car driver during the World Baseball Classic final and having drivers on its daily live shows — including recording two episodes of “First Things First” live from IMS last week.
The increased promotion did not improve viewership for this year’s race. Fox is averaging 2.383 million viewers through seven IndyCar races this year, which is a 10% increase from this point last year. Fox’s two Indy 500 broadcasts have gotten more viewers than any of NBC’s from 2019 to 2024. Sunday’s broadcast was still the second-most-watched since ABC received 6.851 million viewers for the race in 2012.
Zion Brown is IndyStar’s motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to the YouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy 500 TV ratings: Small viewership dip in second year on Fox
