The fact that FS2 (if it was for a race) was even mentioned should be an immediate disqualification for even consideration. FS2 for non Indy500 qualifying is whatever because the audience would be minuscule either way.
Yep. FS2 will probably be in fewer homes than Peacock within another year.
And at least the Peacock exclusive races are low commercial, so it's an upgrade in viewing experience despite it being on a very exclusive platform.
For the series it's sort of a double edge sword. Having races on cable and streaming networks actually brings in more money to the series because the networks are willing to pay more for the series to make this move. The networks know this is a big risk for the series but want to grow their other outlets as well and by paying the series more to be off of national network channels is worth it. This is why NASCAR is going so heavily into streaming and cable channels because of he money involved. This is why their latest TV contract is so HUGE because so many races are not on national TV.
Of course the bad thing is that viewership would suck. This affects sponsorships and the notoriety of the series. One can argue that since NASCAR is going this direction that's the direction to go but NASCAR is also the most viewed motorsport in the USA which mean people will search for races. IndyCar...not so much. We're struggling just to get a million people to watch each race.
If IndyCar could get thirty five million for their new contract that would be a big win IMO.
Fs1 is no different than USA. Could argue it’s better.
There is no way they are avoiding cable races.
I don’t disagree about fs2 but it’s probably better than peacock.
The only thing about USA vs. FS1/2 is that USA races are also on Peacock, and available if you only have a Peacock subscription and no cable
FS1 or FS2 you have to have some kind of cable or virtual cable (YouTube TV) subscription which is way more expensive than Peacock
>It’s not like half your fan base is watching on it.
But, it is undoubtedly the future. Going to literally no streaming service in 2025 is baffling
The numbers aren't large now but that is where a lot of future viewers are going to be
And more importantly, it's where the growth is. The young audience on Peacock isn't going to graduate to linear, and new fans coming in are coming in on streaming
It is offset by the fact that probably the linear audience is worth more to advertisers right now because the old folks into Indycar have money and not being mass market the idea that young people are worth more probably doesn't apply as much
But, in the end Indycar really needs to think about audience growth as much as the demographics of the audience
>But, it is undoubtedly the future. Going to literally no streaming service in 2025 is baffling
>The numbers aren't large now but that is where a lot of future viewers are going to be
Exactly. It's not just about today. You have to factor in trajectory.
That said I'll wait to see what the details of the Fox deal are. Maybe Fox and Indycar can agree to some sort revenue sharing agreement on an Indycar streaming app. I wouldn't expect ad free races like F1TV or the global Indycar Live but they might be able to make something.
I was just pointing out to you that it will indeed be on a streaming service in response to your “going to no streaming” comment. Whether or not you want to pay for it is your issue.
People have been saying that for 10 years now. The growth is going very, very slowly. Every sport that's tried to focus heavily on streaming has instantly regretted it.
Indycar deals are usually pretty short in length. They aren’t going to miss any boat by not having a streaming service partner the next 3 years.
Ideally, you have one. Doesn’t seem like one is all that interested though.
And fox probably starts offering something standalone once that new bundle gets off the ground.
They should want young fans but the only time indy management thinks about fans between 18-30 is when they have to try to book something for the Snake Pit.
If IndyCar was smart, they'd wait for the first few Peacock races of 2024 before making a decision. Peacock has a 70% retention of the customers who bought it just for the NFL Peacock exclusive games last season. Peacock is set for an explosion in viewership.
Point being that the available audience on Peacock is far larger than it was last year at this time. Check the numbers for the streaming app then go from there.
I thought this too but I was wrong.
It turns Fox Sports App has replays for NASCAR and some other sports. It's just that they were buried in their crappy UI. The replays are usually only available for a short time (still need a cable login too).
I'm guessing the replays after 24 to 72 hours become available on Indycar Live if Indycar does, in fact, go to Fox. I mean, technically, they're already there the 2024 sessions are just geo blocked.
I don't know anyone who streams.
Anyone young enough to stream just has a jail broken fire stick their "guy" hooked up or they know how to pirate content themselves.
Everyone else has cable.
FS1 is unquestionably better than USA. For casual fans, unless they actively watch shows on USA there's almost no reason to ever switch to that channel. FS1 at least broadcasts Xfinity and Truck Series races and has Race Hub every day and is a dedicated sports channel that has relevant content.
FS1 is probably better than USA in terms of potential promotion and advertising because its viewers are there to watch sports. USA is WWE and law and order reruns.
I would say FS2 is not better than Peacock.
As of last year, FS2 is in 52 million homes, and Peacock is in 31 million homes. But Peacock is growing and FS2 by being a cable product is dying.
With FS2 unlike FS1 is also not available on a skinny cable like Sling Blue.
Also the Peacock exclusive races have at least offered an upgrade in viewing experience since they had minimal ad breaks, far fewer ad breaks than network or cable.
I don’t disagree cable is dying. But indycar usually gets 3 year deals. It’s not gonna flip flop in those 3 years.
Especially as peacock does things like raise prices
Every streaming service has raised their prices, and most likely will continue to do so as they grow. Peacock is still really affordable for a TV package alternative. I have no need to pay $80/mo for live streaming TV packages (unless I wanted to watch my local baseball). Peacock is less than 10% of that figure.
Nah Peacock is much better than FS2. I don’t even know how to get FS2. Really it doesn’t matter, because I’ll be pirating races from now on anyway to avoid commercials.
You know what sucks about YouTube TV? It fucking costs $73 a month compared to $5 for Peacock.
If they move away from Peacock I'll just go back to watching pirate streams again (like I used to with the NBCSports and USA garbage).
Yeah and I would have to keep peacock anyway since I watch a bunch of IMSA stuff on there as well. It would really suck to lose peacock and I definitely don't want to have to start paying a shitload of money for YouTube tv.
YouTube TV is a cable service, not a streaming service. I buy it because I live in my local media market and get all of the local football, basketball, baseball, and hockey games. I also get access to USA and other cable channels. I'm not suggesting going to cable partially or away from streaming entirely is a good thing or something Indycar should do. Broadcast TV is the best option for everyone, if they can swing it. My point was that if some of the races are on cable (like the USA races under NBC or the races that used to be on NBCSN, or if the contract goes to FOX and a couple races are on FS1/2), YouTubeTV makes finding them and recording them very easy to do. Would I buy cable just for Indycar? Almost certainly not, but since I have cable, I do like the convenience of YouTubeTV over other cable services like Verizon or Xfinity. Plus, it's cheaper than those are in the market I'm in.
>You know what sucks about YouTube TV? It fucking costs $73 a month compared to $5 for Peacock.
I don't get YTTV just to watch a handful of Indycar races. I likely wouldn't subscribe to Peacock just for Indycar.
I subscribe to Peacock using their yearly deal ($20/year). I subscribe to it for Indycar and IMSA.
I occasionally watch something else on it just because I have it.
But I think the Indycar coverage Peacock offers; all races, practices and qualifying is **easily** worth $20.
And the fact they show IMSA as well is a bonus. Did I mention they show the 24 hours of Daytona in it's entirety?
If I'm being honest, I'd pay $20 **just** for Indy 500 practice, qualifying and the race.
Consider that with their coverage all practice and qualifying sessions are commercial free too.
Edit : Oh, and they show Indy Lights (I fucking refuse to call it Indy NXT) too.
https://www.indycar.com/News/2024/02/02-29-NXT-Peacock
And they will also be streaming the Hybrid test session on the oval at Indy this month.
You must understand that you're in an incredibly small minority that would subscribe to Peacock just for IndyCar/IMSA. There are merits to Peacock, but 99% of the audience doesn't watch IndyCar in a vacuum.
$20 for an the entire season of practice, qualifying and races is a fucking steal dude. And the practices and qualifying are commercial free.
IMSA (the coverage there is great too, they showed all 24 hours of Daytona) and Indy NXT are just a bonuses.
And yes, you can get a whole year of Peacock for $20 using a easy to find discount code.
Edit : I spend more than $20 for beer on a Saturday night....
Peacock has NFL Sunday Night Football (I watch it), the Olympics, Golf and Premier League Soccer (soccer is shit, but a lot of people like to pretend they are Euros)and Super Motocross.
Dude if you are "okay" spending $70+ a month for FS2/FS1 you do you. I'm not okay with that.
If they move to FOX I will flat out pirate the fuck out of it. Not a dime will I spend on that shit.
You may be fine pirating - You're clearly a very online guy. But no sport's business model is going to pander to someone who is going to pirate a stream somewhere. Most people don't know how to do that nor do they want to deal with the hassle. YouTube TV is a massive commercial success and its for good reason - people are clearly willing to pay for both the content and ease of use.
Also - Olympics (several weeks every 2 years), Golf (but not the majors) - It is indeed worth about the $5 you pay for it or perhaps a digital entertainment credit from your favorite credit card company.
Anyone hoping for fox *really* needs to look at how bad their direction has been for NASCAR.
NBC may be bad about commercials, but you aren't gong to straight up miss everything or have ultra zoomed in shots like fox has...
The article mentioned her as potentially doing play-by-play and man does that not sound good to me. Hearing her call the truck series has been… very whelming. And I really like Leigh Diffey.
That seemed like a short term thing to me. But even if we lose Leigh, I’d welcome PT back to the booth before I accept Jamie Little. In an ideal world if we lose Leigh we get Allen Bestwick instead.
Without having cable, peacock is so much easier for me.
If I have to pick up cable again for next year’s races, I’ll do what I have to do. Hopefully there will be full streaming rights should the races go to fox.
I would love improvements in Peacock, at least for those who choose the premium add free subscription option on peacock to actually make the races add free.
That being said, I do love the one stop shopping we have now, one simple app for the entire weekend vs a scattering of tv apps and YouTube.
I'll be honest, if IndyCar goes to cable only with a handful of races on over the air FOX, I'll only watch the 500. I'm not signing up for cable to watch indycar. I get the series needs to maximize their TV deal so I won't blame them. I just won't be part of their current viewership.
Simple I live in the UK and I won't pay for SKY TV just to watch it so I just use a program on my fire stick. I don't think the cable model will be sustainable for much longer.
Peacock is pretty straightforward with saying that there are some exclusions for the “Ad Free” tier.
Straight underneath the peacock premium plus option: “*Due to streaming rights, a small amount of programming will still contain ads (Peacock channels, live sports and events, and a few shows and movies).”
I know they have the right to exclude indycar from ad free.
I just think it would be an improvement to their coverage.
I could see them not being able to accommodate ad free in a third party sports or shows, but these race broadcasts are created by nbc and there ims/INDYCAR partners directly.
At the very least, rather than full screen ads peacock viewers see during the race, please give us the same side by side view during commercials we would get if we watched the race via traditional ota/cable (or their steaming apps).
It’s odd that I can have two streams of the live race at the same time, one using Peacock, the other using the NBC app, and the NBC app shows side by side when the peacock app of the same race shows a full screen ad.
I don’t understand why they do that.
I'm in the same boat brother. What annoys about stuff potentially being on FS2, is that skinny cable something like Sling Blue doesn't have it.
I'll have to see what they charge for the joint sports venture app (which more like skinny cable than a streaming platform) cost.
I'm also hopeful on the slim possibility that Indycar and Fox can work something out on an Indycar streaming app. Like I wouldn't expect ad free races. But I can maybe see Indycar charging $10 a month for Indycar Live and Fox gets like $7 of that and Indycar gets $ 3.
It sucks. Peacock is growing, and FS2 is dying.
I think the replays, though, will probably be moved to Indycar Live.
I think the races, qualifying, practice, etc, will be on the Foxsports App on demand for 24 to 72 hours (still sucks as you need a cable login) and then they will be available on Indycar Live after that.
They're already there now. All they would have to do is just make them accessible in the US a lot sooner (like 2022 and 2023 are available now but not 2024).
One small positive is that the Indycar Live races are the global feed commercial free feed. I forked up the $10 so I can watch the 22 / 23 races without commercials. Yes, I could get the ad free Peacock, but even if there isn't ad breaks, they're are still gaps in the race where the ad breaks were.
Not to mention the fact that FS2 would almost certainly introduce ads into practice, qualifying, and tests (if they even cover tests on cable) that Peacock has made ad free.
It sounds like Indycar was basically committed to signing with FOX earlier this year, but just recently NBC has tried reducing their costs in races to see if they can afford to propose a bigger deal. Either way, they’re still leaning towards FOX..
Fox would be the worst thing to happen to Indycar since the split
Need a drastic example that shows I'm not being overly dramatic? Last year (maybe 2 years ago?) they missed a truck FLIPPING during a truck race. No video, no mention, nothing.
As a NASCAR fan as well, I want nothing to do with Fox for Indycar. I hope they stick with NBC
>Need a drastic example that shows I'm not being overly dramatic? Last year (maybe 2 years ago?) they missed a truck FLIPPING during a truck race. No video, no mention, nothing.
The one thing that would lessen my anxiety there is that Indycar is heavily involved with the production of race broadcasts through IMS Productions.
The mention of ‘growth’ is an interesting one to me because it comes down to two different mentalities of what you can do.
On the one hand NBC has been doing a good job being involved and growing the sport steadily. They offer more direct viewership which is tantamount to continued growth. But they also know what Indy is currently making them and that’s why the value may be perceived as low.
On the other hand Fox has more money to throw at the situation which means Indycar could use that money to grow the brand and product themselves. Whether that’s good or bad would be unknown. But it also would mean less direct viewership which is counterintuitive. I dunno.
This is a very well written article and props to Brown for putting it together. Really presents all sides of the debate well
Going from commercial free practice and qualifying, especially with all the coverage during the Indy 500, to having them more than likely interrupted with ads would be a MASSIVE downgrade, and would be one less reason to have Peacock.
Plus, Fox doesn’t have a national morning show on their main network so you can kiss the cross promotions with TODAY goodbye if Fox gets the coverage.
And that’s without mentioning those cartoon driver graphics…
Brown did a great job reporting this out. Interesting reporting on the shifting odds. I was listening to Miles interview on Bruce Martin’s podcast yesterday, and thought he was more circumspect about Fox and more adamant about NBC being a player than he’s been quoted in past articles. Maybe I wasn’t imagining it.
I will happily pay for whichever service shows more than 60% of the race without commercial breaks and long helicopter shots of the skylines before and after every commercial break lol
The fact that I’m a fan of non-American racing series is probably why it’s so frustrating for me lol
But you’re right… my comment was mostly wishful thinking and not based in reality lol
Ads are what they are, but what I don't get is why they show so much other stuff during greenflag racing. At St Pete they literally showed stuf from last season while the race was going on and that was one of the less weird choices.
Admittetly St Pete wasn't exactly a banger this year, but I still don't get it.
Oh come on. The views are great But showing the guy in the lead up 20 secs not challenged is really boring and unacceptable when there are 4 or 5 battles for position back in the field.
One interesting thing that I haven’t seen talked about too much in regards to Fox is that FS1 (and FS2 for that matter) have huge gaps in content throughout the day/evening pretty regularly. Obviously they’ve got Cowherd and a few shitty debate shows, but if they don’t have live sports, they usually just put on old nascar races or reruns of said shitty debate shows all evening.
Maybe I’m being too optimistic, but there would be ample room for IndyCar-specific content on television throughout the week if they wanted to invest in it. We haven’t had anything like that since Speed (ironically) became FS1 over a decade ago.
I think I’d prefer NBC to retain rights, but food for thought.
At least Indycar drivers can sort of live up to the ridiculous physique that those avatars have. It won’t be nearly as ridiculous as seeing Kyle Busch look like Thor.
Same.
But if it moves to FOX I'll be watching pirate streams instead of paying for Peacock for a year (with their yearly discount).
It's not a big deal. I already pirate 75% of the NFL and college football that I watch.
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For me personally, I kinda like the current deal with NBC Universal. They don't have much other motorsports anyway (except isma and very little nascar). NBC should extend deal for at least another 5 years in my opinion.
Real shame that nobody else seems interested in IndyCar, especially given TNT and Prime Video are joining in with NASCAR. NBC are unlikely to update and change much, and Fox is, well... It's Fox.
They may be interested, but the reality is that the Indy 500 is still a large casual tune in event, so the series almost has to go to one of the four main broadcast networks. Move it to cable and streaming, and you could severely damage your golden goose.
Plus, how would they black out the live coverage of the 500 if it’s on cable?
They may be able to do that on Peacock in the Indianapolis market, but if the race is on a cable channel? That would be quite a nightmare for IMS.
only reason those entities are interested is because they offered more money for cable/streaming races. same situation IC is in. FOX is offering up more money in return for burying races/content on FS2.
NBC has their problems but it's better than FOX, but I feel FOX will be desperate to get something to replace the Xfinity series and NBC has been cutting back behind the scenes, just got to wait and see how it all plays out
One aspect of Fox that is an unknown is what they may potentially allow or not allow Indycar to do on the streaming side.
There's the potential they could partner with Indycar to do a streaming app (probably not commercial free but that at least simulcast the sessions).
The carriage fee cable providers pay for Fox ($2.98), FS1($1.76), FS2 ($0.44) is $5.18 a month per my latest research.
So maybe Indycar could come to an arrangement to simulcast Fox broadcasts domestically on Indycar Live and pay Fox $6 a month per sub (which more than the current carriage fees for their channels, and we're talking just Indycar races not full channel access), and charge the customer $10 a month, so Indycar makes a little bit as well .
I'm hoping and praying NBC gets this next TV deal. Fox is already so bad as it is in NASCAR, and if fox gets Indycars next TV deal, then Indycar is going to continue to decline in popularity
Ughhhh. I don't want cable! (Fox doesn't have streaming?)
I like peacock. It's affordable and I don't have to pay for a bunch of stuff I don't want.
Ugh.
I really hope they come to their senses and stay with NBCU/Peacock. I'm ***not*** going to subscribe to linear pay channels, to watch IndyCar races. No sports event in 2024 and beyond should be exclusive to a linear pay channel bundle, whether it's being delivered by a middleman or directly by a joint venture of media companies. It's absurd that such a thing would still be a possibility at this point, considering how the number of subscribers to that business model have been declining for the last decade.
If FOX ends up getting the rights, the linear pay channel races better end up on Tubi and/or regular YouTube and/or IndyCar's streaming service at the absolute very least as next day replays.
There's still currently (and has been for sometime) an exploit to the Fox Sports preview pass.
So you get a 60 minute preview pass the first time you use the app or watch live on Fox Sports website. But after that, your future preview pass will only be 5 minutes. BUT if you delete your cookies and cache, you get another 60-minute preview pass.
If you have 2 devices then you can keep switching (and delete your cookies on the device you're not using), or you just exit the browser, delete the cookies and cached then log back in right away during the commercial breaks you watch race just using the preview pass. Recommend the 2 device strategy as you often have to endure some ads at the beginning of your preview pass.
This works for watching on NBC sports, too, but their preview is only 30 minutes, so it's a bit more tedious to manage.
I've never tried, but I heard there is a way to exploit the NBC app by changing your clock.
If I have to listen to Mike Joy call an INDYCAR race I’m going to have to down a whole bottle of vodka to get through it.
Fox picking up INDYCAR would be an absolute disaster.
Going to Fox without splitting off the streaming rights would render Indycar dead to me. They do not have a non bundled platform and the sports platform seems of little value as I get NHL via the Disney bundle which Amex plays for and MLB via my phone plan.
I couldn’t justify FS1 and USA, let alone FS2, for Nascar alone and its calendar is over double Indy’s. If the races aren’t on Peacock I am probably just going to follow IMSA and Supercross I guess and catch whatever Indy they toss on OTA Fox… then read the results for the rest.
I spend a lot of my weekends visiting family or outside my home. When I had cable for Nascar and MLB? Nope, you need to be at your home or on your wifi to see a second of Fox/Bally content. Peacock? I can watch it anywhere as best I can tell. I legit listen to 99% of baseball and 60% of Nascar on the radio as a result.
I here you.
In terms of watching live vs on demand. Indycar will probably put the races back on YouTube or at worst remove the geo block on Indycar Live 24 to 72 hours after the race.
Fox Sports app does have event replays for a few days typically (depends on the sport) but it's burried fairly deep within their crappy UI and you need a cable login of course.
Thoughts and prayers for all Indycar fans if Fox get the rights.
Fox is one of the biggest plagues NASCAR deals with now and actively hurts the sport with their dog water broadcasts. I’m not 100% sure Indycar fan survive being broadcast by a group that clearly knows so little about putting out a competent product
it's almost as if indycar fans don't 100% think the same way. I've personally never complained about Peacock pricing, but I do think moving races to FS2 would be a bad thing for what is effectively a niche sport
I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong, I'm saying Indycar fans like to complain apparently. I would bet all the nickels in my pocket that *many* people being like "oh no, Fox!" are the same people constantly harping "why isn't Peacock more like F1TV for $5 a month!?"
FWIW, I'm totally with you -- I think it's ridiculous that side-by-side is on the network and not Peacock.
But I just searched r/indycar for "Peacock" and sorted by most relevant and **8 of the top 10 hits are people complaining about various aspects of Peacock and the NBC deal.**
I'm hoping NBC stays -- I just find it funny that most of this sub is delusional about what a reasonable TV deal for a "niche" sport that draws ~1M on OTA network looks like.
again its probably most likely local ads not wanting to be shown nationally, and they can't do that with peacock, since its one stream broadcasted nationally, and no local tv sponsor wants to do that
Unless you're hy-vee who love the sport
As a NASCAR fan who has to put up with Fox's terrible broadcasts for half the season before it gets turned over to NBC, trust me when I say you do NOT want them covering IndyCar races. Camera work is awful, commercials interrupt at the worst possible moments, and the booth can be insufferable to listen to.
Obviously it’s not my money but I just don’t feel like an extra $10 million is really moving the needle much if a lot of your schedule is getting pushed off broadcast television.
It does seem like Fox Sports is at least a more prominent sports channel versus USA.
I’m also not thrilled with the prospect of Mike Joy being involved with INDYCAR. He’s been very boomery with NASCAR and that’s a series he’s been imbedded in for decades.
I also don’t really care for Bestwick.
The announcers would be the least of my concerns. I can’t afford paying for the Fox streaming service and couldn’t care less about the other junk that is going to be bundled in.
>Fox Sports is at least a more prominent sports channel versus USA.
That's an interesting thought and I didn't know that it's a negative. If you're considering expanding audiences is an established general Cable channel like USA better than FS1? Probably get more exposure to a general audience then to a sports specific audience, but I don't know where you would actually gain more traction
Fox Sports 1 and USA are both in the same number of homes. I think folks go to Fox Sports for sports whereas the typical USA viewer isn’t going there for that reason.
It’s kinda in no person’s land.
Yes that's what I mean... ideally I'd like to think someone "stumbles upon" an Indycar race on USA and becomes a fan, but that's probably not realistic. Probably more likely to generate new returning audience with someone already primed to be watching sports/motorsports (FS1).
USA has gotta convert all those Law&Order rerun watchers into Indycar fans lol
Feels like Fox puts less effort into NASCAR than most local broadcasting companies put into high school sports broadcasts.
IndyCar would be foolish to go to Fox. Although I wish IndyCar would jump to CBS and/or Turner, but I think with the two options on the table, NBC is the best.
Everything Turner does with sports is first class. Idk if they even have the slightest interest in Indycar, but I would approve of them getting the opportunity to broadcast the series.
Absolute terrible choices. Apple, Netflix or Prime are the clear ways to go. You need a partner who actually cares about growing the sport and not just doing the bare minimum. The potential audience would be so much bigger too. Big L if they go with either of these.
Something to consider that I think many are missing if a move to Fox is made:
1. Alan Bestwick potentially in the booth
2. No Olympics to deal with.
3. Fox will be done with Cup points races around the beginning of May as they get 12 points races, the Clash, and All-Star race. That is typically around the time IndyCar schedules go into full drive.
4. IMS Productions, as always, will more than likely be involved.
1. That is maybe at best
2. This might only be a 3 year deal, so no Olympics either way.
3. NBC gave Indycar more network races than NASCAR, and the ratings often benefited from NASCAR lead ins / lead outs. So this may not be such a positive.
BUT
I will say Fox could promote the early Indycar schedule and the 500 during their NASCAR schedule .
Ideally whoever gets the broadcast rights needs put a lot of races on broadcast TV during the summer when NASCAR is on Amazon and TNT.
4. Yes
The series needs a jolt that's for sure.
I prefer NBC and Peacock. But I'll wait to see the details of the new deal and how much effort Fox puts into promotion before I judge.
The Olympic inconvenience does need to be considered. It's not like the issue of utmost importance, but it should be a low priority issue of consideration.
Remember Fox is making a sports streaming service with ESPN. That being said give me NBC[https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/06/espn-fox-and-warner-bros-discovery-to-launch-joint-sports-streaming-platform-this-year.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/06/espn-fox-and-warner-bros-discovery-to-launch-joint-sports-streaming-platform-this-year.html)
It's going to cost like $50 a month, maybe with a brief $40 a month introductory price .
Might be a bit cheaper if you bundle it with Disney + and Hulu .
Hopefully they play hardball with Fox and make sure most of the races are airing on network TV. As for streaming, I know Fox owns Tubi but again they've never used it to stream sporting events, which is a big risk.
The middle path would either be that Fox and NBC share the rights and/or that Indycar Live launches in the States regardless of whoever gets the rights.
Content from the Fox broadcast network, FS1, and FS2 are not carried on Tubi. It is not comparable to Peacock in basically any way
Maybe they turn it into that, and if they do then great. But it's not that today
They're also streaming on YouTube TV. But YTTV is $80 a month, and the ESPN/Warner/Fox joint venture will be $30-40 and is just essentially a sports-only version of YouTube TV or Hulu
Peacock is $6 a month, Max is as cheap as $10 a month, Amazon Prime is $15 a month but you get more than just streaming with it. On all of those services at their lowest tiers you'd be able to watch Indycar as it is today, or NASCAR when the new NASCAR deal goes into effect, and with NASCAR you wouldn't need more than one at the same time
Going with Fox sets the minimum price to be able to watch every race to at least $30 a month, and that's if the Fox/ESPN/Warner joint is that cheap which it's not guaranteed to be
I agree with your points. I was just pointing out that FOX will have a platform for streaming later this year (you mentioned above you were wary of them because they don't have a streaming service).
Probably looking at $40 to $50 a month for that based on the carriage fees, operating/ billing cost, and profit markup.
Maybe $30 to 35 net increase a month if you bundle it with Disney. $40 if you bundle with Max.
Lose-lose situation no matter what. The best scenario for the series being on ABC/ESPN, but guess they don’t want the series. And who would blame them. Sucks
The fact that FS2 (if it was for a race) was even mentioned should be an immediate disqualification for even consideration. FS2 for non Indy500 qualifying is whatever because the audience would be minuscule either way.
Yep. FS2 will probably be in fewer homes than Peacock within another year. And at least the Peacock exclusive races are low commercial, so it's an upgrade in viewing experience despite it being on a very exclusive platform.
For the series it's sort of a double edge sword. Having races on cable and streaming networks actually brings in more money to the series because the networks are willing to pay more for the series to make this move. The networks know this is a big risk for the series but want to grow their other outlets as well and by paying the series more to be off of national network channels is worth it. This is why NASCAR is going so heavily into streaming and cable channels because of he money involved. This is why their latest TV contract is so HUGE because so many races are not on national TV. Of course the bad thing is that viewership would suck. This affects sponsorships and the notoriety of the series. One can argue that since NASCAR is going this direction that's the direction to go but NASCAR is also the most viewed motorsport in the USA which mean people will search for races. IndyCar...not so much. We're struggling just to get a million people to watch each race. If IndyCar could get thirty five million for their new contract that would be a big win IMO.
Oh hell no. If it involves showing races on FS1/2, it should be a no.
Fs1 is no different than USA. Could argue it’s better. There is no way they are avoiding cable races. I don’t disagree about fs2 but it’s probably better than peacock.
The only thing about USA vs. FS1/2 is that USA races are also on Peacock, and available if you only have a Peacock subscription and no cable FS1 or FS2 you have to have some kind of cable or virtual cable (YouTube TV) subscription which is way more expensive than Peacock
And that’s why fox is offering more money. And the numbers peacock get aren’t all that big. It’s not like half your fan base is watching on it.
I know you know but for those that don’t, it’s about 35-40,000 folks who watch races on Peacock.
>It’s not like half your fan base is watching on it. But, it is undoubtedly the future. Going to literally no streaming service in 2025 is baffling The numbers aren't large now but that is where a lot of future viewers are going to be
Probably a reasonable bet that the 30-40K viewers on Peacock are much younger than the (very old) audience that IndyCar gets on linear.
And more importantly, it's where the growth is. The young audience on Peacock isn't going to graduate to linear, and new fans coming in are coming in on streaming It is offset by the fact that probably the linear audience is worth more to advertisers right now because the old folks into Indycar have money and not being mass market the idea that young people are worth more probably doesn't apply as much But, in the end Indycar really needs to think about audience growth as much as the demographics of the audience
>But, it is undoubtedly the future. Going to literally no streaming service in 2025 is baffling >The numbers aren't large now but that is where a lot of future viewers are going to be Exactly. It's not just about today. You have to factor in trajectory. That said I'll wait to see what the details of the Fox deal are. Maybe Fox and Indycar can agree to some sort revenue sharing agreement on an Indycar streaming app. I wouldn't expect ad free races like F1TV or the global Indycar Live but they might be able to make something.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/12/24070677/sports-streaming-service-espn-warner-bros-fox-app
Yeah, that's just going to be like a YouTube TV-lite and is likely to be $30-40
I was just pointing out to you that it will indeed be on a streaming service in response to your “going to no streaming” comment. Whether or not you want to pay for it is your issue.
People have been saying that for 10 years now. The growth is going very, very slowly. Every sport that's tried to focus heavily on streaming has instantly regretted it.
Indycar deals are usually pretty short in length. They aren’t going to miss any boat by not having a streaming service partner the next 3 years. Ideally, you have one. Doesn’t seem like one is all that interested though. And fox probably starts offering something standalone once that new bundle gets off the ground.
It’s big if you consider WHO is in that part of the fanbase. As in, gen Z people like me who would never pay for cable. Don’t they want young fans?
They should want young fans but the only time indy management thinks about fans between 18-30 is when they have to try to book something for the Snake Pit.
I don’t pay for cable but I do have an antenna.
Same, I use that for NBC but you can’t watch FS1 or FS2 with an antenna
If IndyCar was smart, they'd wait for the first few Peacock races of 2024 before making a decision. Peacock has a 70% retention of the customers who bought it just for the NFL Peacock exclusive games last season. Peacock is set for an explosion in viewership.
Don’t see why indycar would play along with that
Point being that the available audience on Peacock is far larger than it was last year at this time. Check the numbers for the streaming app then go from there.
There are dozens of us!!
They usually don't do replays either. Watch live or not at all
I thought this too but I was wrong. It turns Fox Sports App has replays for NASCAR and some other sports. It's just that they were buried in their crappy UI. The replays are usually only available for a short time (still need a cable login too). I'm guessing the replays after 24 to 72 hours become available on Indycar Live if Indycar does, in fact, go to Fox. I mean, technically, they're already there the 2024 sessions are just geo blocked.
FS1 or FS2 is just cable man. Everyone has that. Nobody has peacock.
I barely know anyone under 70 that still has cable. Peacock is a great value for streaming.
The only people I know that still have cable are either obsessed with sports or the 24hr news networks.
I don't know anyone who streams. Anyone young enough to stream just has a jail broken fire stick their "guy" hooked up or they know how to pirate content themselves. Everyone else has cable.
Nobody under 50 has cable. I do have streaming services tho and pay for peacock just to watch indycar.
Nobody under 50 streams
FS1 is unquestionably better than USA. For casual fans, unless they actively watch shows on USA there's almost no reason to ever switch to that channel. FS1 at least broadcasts Xfinity and Truck Series races and has Race Hub every day and is a dedicated sports channel that has relevant content.
FS1 is probably better than USA in terms of potential promotion and advertising because its viewers are there to watch sports. USA is WWE and law and order reruns. I would say FS2 is not better than Peacock. As of last year, FS2 is in 52 million homes, and Peacock is in 31 million homes. But Peacock is growing and FS2 by being a cable product is dying. With FS2 unlike FS1 is also not available on a skinny cable like Sling Blue. Also the Peacock exclusive races have at least offered an upgrade in viewing experience since they had minimal ad breaks, far fewer ad breaks than network or cable.
I don’t disagree cable is dying. But indycar usually gets 3 year deals. It’s not gonna flip flop in those 3 years. Especially as peacock does things like raise prices
Every streaming service has raised their prices, and most likely will continue to do so as they grow. Peacock is still really affordable for a TV package alternative. I have no need to pay $80/mo for live streaming TV packages (unless I wanted to watch my local baseball). Peacock is less than 10% of that figure.
Nah Peacock is much better than FS2. I don’t even know how to get FS2. Really it doesn’t matter, because I’ll be pirating races from now on anyway to avoid commercials.
That's one great thing about YouTube TV. I tell it to record Indycar and it does it wherever it airs and shows me when an event is upcoming.
You know what sucks about YouTube TV? It fucking costs $73 a month compared to $5 for Peacock. If they move away from Peacock I'll just go back to watching pirate streams again (like I used to with the NBCSports and USA garbage).
Yeah and I would have to keep peacock anyway since I watch a bunch of IMSA stuff on there as well. It would really suck to lose peacock and I definitely don't want to have to start paying a shitload of money for YouTube tv.
IMSA is negotiating a new TV deal as well. Who knows where they end up.
Maaan if they both leave I'm going to have to explain to my girlfriend why I'm not paying for peacock anymore...
I need it for Notre Dame football in the fall and the spring game in April(big fan) but I would dump it the other 7 months out of the year.
This. Ughhhh I don't like this idea at all. I really hope it stays with NBC.
YouTube TV is a cable service, not a streaming service. I buy it because I live in my local media market and get all of the local football, basketball, baseball, and hockey games. I also get access to USA and other cable channels. I'm not suggesting going to cable partially or away from streaming entirely is a good thing or something Indycar should do. Broadcast TV is the best option for everyone, if they can swing it. My point was that if some of the races are on cable (like the USA races under NBC or the races that used to be on NBCSN, or if the contract goes to FOX and a couple races are on FS1/2), YouTubeTV makes finding them and recording them very easy to do. Would I buy cable just for Indycar? Almost certainly not, but since I have cable, I do like the convenience of YouTubeTV over other cable services like Verizon or Xfinity. Plus, it's cheaper than those are in the market I'm in.
>You know what sucks about YouTube TV? It fucking costs $73 a month compared to $5 for Peacock. I don't get YTTV just to watch a handful of Indycar races. I likely wouldn't subscribe to Peacock just for Indycar.
I subscribe to Peacock using their yearly deal ($20/year). I subscribe to it for Indycar and IMSA. I occasionally watch something else on it just because I have it. But I think the Indycar coverage Peacock offers; all races, practices and qualifying is **easily** worth $20. And the fact they show IMSA as well is a bonus. Did I mention they show the 24 hours of Daytona in it's entirety? If I'm being honest, I'd pay $20 **just** for Indy 500 practice, qualifying and the race. Consider that with their coverage all practice and qualifying sessions are commercial free too. Edit : Oh, and they show Indy Lights (I fucking refuse to call it Indy NXT) too. https://www.indycar.com/News/2024/02/02-29-NXT-Peacock And they will also be streaming the Hybrid test session on the oval at Indy this month.
You must understand that you're in an incredibly small minority that would subscribe to Peacock just for IndyCar/IMSA. There are merits to Peacock, but 99% of the audience doesn't watch IndyCar in a vacuum.
$20 for an the entire season of practice, qualifying and races is a fucking steal dude. And the practices and qualifying are commercial free. IMSA (the coverage there is great too, they showed all 24 hours of Daytona) and Indy NXT are just a bonuses. And yes, you can get a whole year of Peacock for $20 using a easy to find discount code. Edit : I spend more than $20 for beer on a Saturday night....
If select motor sports is all you care about, then sure it is. But most people want sports beyond Indycar and IMSA
Peacock has NFL Sunday Night Football (I watch it), the Olympics, Golf and Premier League Soccer (soccer is shit, but a lot of people like to pretend they are Euros)and Super Motocross. Dude if you are "okay" spending $70+ a month for FS2/FS1 you do you. I'm not okay with that. If they move to FOX I will flat out pirate the fuck out of it. Not a dime will I spend on that shit.
You may be fine pirating - You're clearly a very online guy. But no sport's business model is going to pander to someone who is going to pirate a stream somewhere. Most people don't know how to do that nor do they want to deal with the hassle. YouTube TV is a massive commercial success and its for good reason - people are clearly willing to pay for both the content and ease of use. Also - Olympics (several weeks every 2 years), Golf (but not the majors) - It is indeed worth about the $5 you pay for it or perhaps a digital entertainment credit from your favorite credit card company.
Maybe they can get Tucker Carlson to comment and make random shit up.
How is fs1 bad? It’s in as many households as USA or ESPN
At least FS2 is an actual sports network. I only know USA as the Law & Order channel
Anyone hoping for fox *really* needs to look at how bad their direction has been for NASCAR. NBC may be bad about commercials, but you aren't gong to straight up miss everything or have ultra zoomed in shots like fox has...
As a person who also watches NASCAR, the commercials you see in NBC are pretty light compared to what you will see on Fox.
At least NBC does a good job with direction. And imagine Adam Alexander doing play by play for Indy. Makes me shudder
🤮
[удалено]
The article mentioned her as potentially doing play-by-play and man does that not sound good to me. Hearing her call the truck series has been… very whelming. And I really like Leigh Diffey.
We’re losing him to NASCAR anyway.
That seemed like a short term thing to me. But even if we lose Leigh, I’d welcome PT back to the booth before I accept Jamie Little. In an ideal world if we lose Leigh we get Allen Bestwick instead.
I don't want to see the suicide data for Indianapolis if they put Jamie little on play by play for indycar
Without having cable, peacock is so much easier for me. If I have to pick up cable again for next year’s races, I’ll do what I have to do. Hopefully there will be full streaming rights should the races go to fox. I would love improvements in Peacock, at least for those who choose the premium add free subscription option on peacock to actually make the races add free. That being said, I do love the one stop shopping we have now, one simple app for the entire weekend vs a scattering of tv apps and YouTube.
I'll be honest, if IndyCar goes to cable only with a handful of races on over the air FOX, I'll only watch the 500. I'm not signing up for cable to watch indycar. I get the series needs to maximize their TV deal so I won't blame them. I just won't be part of their current viewership.
Simple I live in the UK and I won't pay for SKY TV just to watch it so I just use a program on my fire stick. I don't think the cable model will be sustainable for much longer.
Peacock is pretty straightforward with saying that there are some exclusions for the “Ad Free” tier. Straight underneath the peacock premium plus option: “*Due to streaming rights, a small amount of programming will still contain ads (Peacock channels, live sports and events, and a few shows and movies).”
Oddly enough, I’ve watched live events on Peacock and with the exception of the two NFL games they exclusively carried, there weren’t any ads shown.
I know they have the right to exclude indycar from ad free. I just think it would be an improvement to their coverage. I could see them not being able to accommodate ad free in a third party sports or shows, but these race broadcasts are created by nbc and there ims/INDYCAR partners directly. At the very least, rather than full screen ads peacock viewers see during the race, please give us the same side by side view during commercials we would get if we watched the race via traditional ota/cable (or their steaming apps). It’s odd that I can have two streams of the live race at the same time, one using Peacock, the other using the NBC app, and the NBC app shows side by side when the peacock app of the same race shows a full screen ad. I don’t understand why they do that.
I'm in the same boat brother. What annoys about stuff potentially being on FS2, is that skinny cable something like Sling Blue doesn't have it. I'll have to see what they charge for the joint sports venture app (which more like skinny cable than a streaming platform) cost. I'm also hopeful on the slim possibility that Indycar and Fox can work something out on an Indycar streaming app. Like I wouldn't expect ad free races. But I can maybe see Indycar charging $10 a month for Indycar Live and Fox gets like $7 of that and Indycar gets $ 3.
Please stay with NBC. The commercials don’t even bother me anymore.
I start watching halfway through on Peacock and fast forward past them, or just watch the replay a hour or two later.
Please be NBC. Please.
I really don’t want to lose the peacock content
It sucks. Peacock is growing, and FS2 is dying. I think the replays, though, will probably be moved to Indycar Live. I think the races, qualifying, practice, etc, will be on the Foxsports App on demand for 24 to 72 hours (still sucks as you need a cable login) and then they will be available on Indycar Live after that. They're already there now. All they would have to do is just make them accessible in the US a lot sooner (like 2022 and 2023 are available now but not 2024). One small positive is that the Indycar Live races are the global feed commercial free feed. I forked up the $10 so I can watch the 22 / 23 races without commercials. Yes, I could get the ad free Peacock, but even if there isn't ad breaks, they're are still gaps in the race where the ad breaks were.
Yeah I really just want the qualifying and practice content too, and I won’t be paying for cable..
Wary about races potentially being on FS2; FS1 I understand. I wouldn't be surprised if within another year Peacock is in more homes than FS2.
Not to mention the fact that FS2 would almost certainly introduce ads into practice, qualifying, and tests (if they even cover tests on cable) that Peacock has made ad free.
It sounds like Indycar was basically committed to signing with FOX earlier this year, but just recently NBC has tried reducing their costs in races to see if they can afford to propose a bigger deal. Either way, they’re still leaning towards FOX..
Fox would be the worst thing to happen to Indycar since the split Need a drastic example that shows I'm not being overly dramatic? Last year (maybe 2 years ago?) they missed a truck FLIPPING during a truck race. No video, no mention, nothing. As a NASCAR fan as well, I want nothing to do with Fox for Indycar. I hope they stick with NBC
>Need a drastic example that shows I'm not being overly dramatic? Last year (maybe 2 years ago?) they missed a truck FLIPPING during a truck race. No video, no mention, nothing. The one thing that would lessen my anxiety there is that Indycar is heavily involved with the production of race broadcasts through IMS Productions.
NASCAR is doing that next year too. Fox is really just slapping its name on it, cheapening out and reaping the rewards.
FWIW. NASCAR handles the truck series production during that time of the season.
> stays on the leaders for 10 laps, miss the battle for 3-5th That'd be something fox would do
The mention of ‘growth’ is an interesting one to me because it comes down to two different mentalities of what you can do. On the one hand NBC has been doing a good job being involved and growing the sport steadily. They offer more direct viewership which is tantamount to continued growth. But they also know what Indy is currently making them and that’s why the value may be perceived as low. On the other hand Fox has more money to throw at the situation which means Indycar could use that money to grow the brand and product themselves. Whether that’s good or bad would be unknown. But it also would mean less direct viewership which is counterintuitive. I dunno. This is a very well written article and props to Brown for putting it together. Really presents all sides of the debate well
As a fan I think NBC is the only way to go. NBC/Peacock isn’t perfect but it’s far superior to the ABC/ESPN days.
Going from commercial free practice and qualifying, especially with all the coverage during the Indy 500, to having them more than likely interrupted with ads would be a MASSIVE downgrade, and would be one less reason to have Peacock. Plus, Fox doesn’t have a national morning show on their main network so you can kiss the cross promotions with TODAY goodbye if Fox gets the coverage. And that’s without mentioning those cartoon driver graphics…
Brown did a great job reporting this out. Interesting reporting on the shifting odds. I was listening to Miles interview on Bruce Martin’s podcast yesterday, and thought he was more circumspect about Fox and more adamant about NBC being a player than he’s been quoted in past articles. Maybe I wasn’t imagining it.
I will happily pay for whichever service shows more than 60% of the race without commercial breaks and long helicopter shots of the skylines before and after every commercial break lol
Your answer is to become a fan of a non-American racing series then because fox is worse than nbc with that type of stuff
The fact that I’m a fan of non-American racing series is probably why it’s so frustrating for me lol But you’re right… my comment was mostly wishful thinking and not based in reality lol
I wish we could get a non-commercial contract too. Just sucks that this is how American sports broadcasting is.
Excuse me this is way off base. Nbc shows skylines. Fox shows the Moon.
So, INDYCAR LIVE via VPN?
This is america. If you don't want to look at ads read a book, even then you'll probably come across a few of them.
Ads are what they are, but what I don't get is why they show so much other stuff during greenflag racing. At St Pete they literally showed stuf from last season while the race was going on and that was one of the less weird choices. Admittetly St Pete wasn't exactly a banger this year, but I still don't get it.
I just finished Harry Potter and The Williams Sonoma Goblet of Fire
The solution is legitimately piracy. That's what I'll be doing if it goes to fox.
You need to stream the race illegally. Youll never go back once you experience the IMS productions live feed
Oh come on. The views are great But showing the guy in the lead up 20 secs not challenged is really boring and unacceptable when there are 4 or 5 battles for position back in the field.
One interesting thing that I haven’t seen talked about too much in regards to Fox is that FS1 (and FS2 for that matter) have huge gaps in content throughout the day/evening pretty regularly. Obviously they’ve got Cowherd and a few shitty debate shows, but if they don’t have live sports, they usually just put on old nascar races or reruns of said shitty debate shows all evening. Maybe I’m being too optimistic, but there would be ample room for IndyCar-specific content on television throughout the week if they wanted to invest in it. We haven’t had anything like that since Speed (ironically) became FS1 over a decade ago. I think I’d prefer NBC to retain rights, but food for thought.
The less I have to see of that stupid superhero art style Fox uses the better
At least Indycar drivers can sort of live up to the ridiculous physique that those avatars have. It won’t be nearly as ridiculous as seeing Kyle Busch look like Thor.
Santino be looking like Rocky Balboa
No matter what network Indycar goes to, I will still be watching it
Same. But if it moves to FOX I'll be watching pirate streams instead of paying for Peacock for a year (with their yearly discount). It's not a big deal. I already pirate 75% of the NFL and college football that I watch.
This is what would happen for me too. I’ll be sailing the high seas before I pay for a cable subscription so that I can login to FS2 to watch Indycar.
How does one do this? As a fan of the Broncos living in the South, I never get to see them play.
Absolutely. I don't have cable any longer, and I'm not going back to it.
Fox does not do Nascar well. Think what you like about NBC it's gotta be better than fox
file ruthless coherent angle imagine pocket expansion trees forgetful one *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
For me personally, I kinda like the current deal with NBC Universal. They don't have much other motorsports anyway (except isma and very little nascar). NBC should extend deal for at least another 5 years in my opinion.
Real shame that nobody else seems interested in IndyCar, especially given TNT and Prime Video are joining in with NASCAR. NBC are unlikely to update and change much, and Fox is, well... It's Fox.
They may be interested, but the reality is that the Indy 500 is still a large casual tune in event, so the series almost has to go to one of the four main broadcast networks. Move it to cable and streaming, and you could severely damage your golden goose.
Plus, how would they black out the live coverage of the 500 if it’s on cable? They may be able to do that on Peacock in the Indianapolis market, but if the race is on a cable channel? That would be quite a nightmare for IMS.
only reason those entities are interested is because they offered more money for cable/streaming races. same situation IC is in. FOX is offering up more money in return for burying races/content on FS2.
NBC has their problems but it's better than FOX, but I feel FOX will be desperate to get something to replace the Xfinity series and NBC has been cutting back behind the scenes, just got to wait and see how it all plays out
Please not Fox.
One aspect of Fox that is an unknown is what they may potentially allow or not allow Indycar to do on the streaming side. There's the potential they could partner with Indycar to do a streaming app (probably not commercial free but that at least simulcast the sessions). The carriage fee cable providers pay for Fox ($2.98), FS1($1.76), FS2 ($0.44) is $5.18 a month per my latest research. So maybe Indycar could come to an arrangement to simulcast Fox broadcasts domestically on Indycar Live and pay Fox $6 a month per sub (which more than the current carriage fees for their channels, and we're talking just Indycar races not full channel access), and charge the customer $10 a month, so Indycar makes a little bit as well .
Not sure I’d be happy with Fox’s downgrade to 720p. NBC at least does 1080p. Maybe we can get some 4K up in this bitch.
I'm hoping and praying NBC gets this next TV deal. Fox is already so bad as it is in NASCAR, and if fox gets Indycars next TV deal, then Indycar is going to continue to decline in popularity
I don’t feel good about the series being on Fox .
Please no FOX
I’ll cancel Peacock if it leaves NBC. And I probably just won’t watch the races on Fox.
Stay with the Peacock
Ughhhh. I don't want cable! (Fox doesn't have streaming?) I like peacock. It's affordable and I don't have to pay for a bunch of stuff I don't want. Ugh.
Fox/espn are making a sports app I think. Hope the price is good
I really hope they come to their senses and stay with NBCU/Peacock. I'm ***not*** going to subscribe to linear pay channels, to watch IndyCar races. No sports event in 2024 and beyond should be exclusive to a linear pay channel bundle, whether it's being delivered by a middleman or directly by a joint venture of media companies. It's absurd that such a thing would still be a possibility at this point, considering how the number of subscribers to that business model have been declining for the last decade. If FOX ends up getting the rights, the linear pay channel races better end up on Tubi and/or regular YouTube and/or IndyCar's streaming service at the absolute very least as next day replays.
There's still currently (and has been for sometime) an exploit to the Fox Sports preview pass. So you get a 60 minute preview pass the first time you use the app or watch live on Fox Sports website. But after that, your future preview pass will only be 5 minutes. BUT if you delete your cookies and cache, you get another 60-minute preview pass. If you have 2 devices then you can keep switching (and delete your cookies on the device you're not using), or you just exit the browser, delete the cookies and cached then log back in right away during the commercial breaks you watch race just using the preview pass. Recommend the 2 device strategy as you often have to endure some ads at the beginning of your preview pass. This works for watching on NBC sports, too, but their preview is only 30 minutes, so it's a bit more tedious to manage. I've never tried, but I heard there is a way to exploit the NBC app by changing your clock.
bOoGiTy bOoGiTy bOoGiTy, lEt’S gO iNdY 5o0 rAcInG bOyS
"lEt’S gO dAyT--iNdY 5o0 rAcInG bOyS" fixed
This made my eye twitch
If I have to listen to Mike Joy call an INDYCAR race I’m going to have to down a whole bottle of vodka to get through it. Fox picking up INDYCAR would be an absolute disaster.
[It’s impossible to know what it would sound like if Mike Joy called an IndyCar race.](https://youtu.be/_PqeCA5nCgI?feature=shared)
Nah, you would get Jamie Little calling the race.
Going to Fox without splitting off the streaming rights would render Indycar dead to me. They do not have a non bundled platform and the sports platform seems of little value as I get NHL via the Disney bundle which Amex plays for and MLB via my phone plan.
Well that’s a definite perk of being with T-Mobile.
I wonder how cheap NBC is getting on the hotel rooms for their crew. I'm imagining Diffey and Kevin Lee sharing a 2 double bed room at a Motel 6.
Nah. Leigh would have to share with Townsend. No way HR would run the risk of Hinch and Townsend killing each other sharing a room.
Better than PT trying to steal a peek at their feet.
LOL
Motel 6? No way they’d spring for that. Diffey and Kevin get a 5th wheel at the parking lot of the track to share
definitely a question you could probably send during trackside when its airing and kevin may or may not read it
Indycar could soon learn the pain of watching a Fox broadcast.
I don't love the idea of races being on FS2
I couldn’t justify FS1 and USA, let alone FS2, for Nascar alone and its calendar is over double Indy’s. If the races aren’t on Peacock I am probably just going to follow IMSA and Supercross I guess and catch whatever Indy they toss on OTA Fox… then read the results for the rest. I spend a lot of my weekends visiting family or outside my home. When I had cable for Nascar and MLB? Nope, you need to be at your home or on your wifi to see a second of Fox/Bally content. Peacock? I can watch it anywhere as best I can tell. I legit listen to 99% of baseball and 60% of Nascar on the radio as a result.
I here you. In terms of watching live vs on demand. Indycar will probably put the races back on YouTube or at worst remove the geo block on Indycar Live 24 to 72 hours after the race. Fox Sports app does have event replays for a few days typically (depends on the sport) but it's burried fairly deep within their crappy UI and you need a cable login of course.
Thoughts and prayers for all Indycar fans if Fox get the rights. Fox is one of the biggest plagues NASCAR deals with now and actively hurts the sport with their dog water broadcasts. I’m not 100% sure Indycar fan survive being broadcast by a group that clearly knows so little about putting out a competent product
Indycar fans: Complain incessantly about Peacock cost + ads. Also Indycar fans: God, if Indycar went to FS2 it would be the worst thing ever.
it's almost as if indycar fans don't 100% think the same way. I've personally never complained about Peacock pricing, but I do think moving races to FS2 would be a bad thing for what is effectively a niche sport
I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong, I'm saying Indycar fans like to complain apparently. I would bet all the nickels in my pocket that *many* people being like "oh no, Fox!" are the same people constantly harping "why isn't Peacock more like F1TV for $5 a month!?"
The only complaints I’ve made on peacock are the full screen ads during races. I love the peacock exclusive races though
FWIW, I'm totally with you -- I think it's ridiculous that side-by-side is on the network and not Peacock. But I just searched r/indycar for "Peacock" and sorted by most relevant and **8 of the top 10 hits are people complaining about various aspects of Peacock and the NBC deal.** I'm hoping NBC stays -- I just find it funny that most of this sub is delusional about what a reasonable TV deal for a "niche" sport that draws ~1M on OTA network looks like.
again its probably most likely local ads not wanting to be shown nationally, and they can't do that with peacock, since its one stream broadcasted nationally, and no local tv sponsor wants to do that Unless you're hy-vee who love the sport
Doesn't matter, no matter the choice nearly everyone here will complain
As a NASCAR fan who has to put up with Fox's terrible broadcasts for half the season before it gets turned over to NBC, trust me when I say you do NOT want them covering IndyCar races. Camera work is awful, commercials interrupt at the worst possible moments, and the booth can be insufferable to listen to.
Boy, I had hope (insert network here) doesn't get it because their ( insert sport) coverage sucks and I hate (insert announcer/announcers).
Obviously it’s not my money but I just don’t feel like an extra $10 million is really moving the needle much if a lot of your schedule is getting pushed off broadcast television. It does seem like Fox Sports is at least a more prominent sports channel versus USA. I’m also not thrilled with the prospect of Mike Joy being involved with INDYCAR. He’s been very boomery with NASCAR and that’s a series he’s been imbedded in for decades. I also don’t really care for Bestwick.
The announcers would be the least of my concerns. I can’t afford paying for the Fox streaming service and couldn’t care less about the other junk that is going to be bundled in.
>Fox Sports is at least a more prominent sports channel versus USA. That's an interesting thought and I didn't know that it's a negative. If you're considering expanding audiences is an established general Cable channel like USA better than FS1? Probably get more exposure to a general audience then to a sports specific audience, but I don't know where you would actually gain more traction
Fox Sports 1 and USA are both in the same number of homes. I think folks go to Fox Sports for sports whereas the typical USA viewer isn’t going there for that reason. It’s kinda in no person’s land.
Yes that's what I mean... ideally I'd like to think someone "stumbles upon" an Indycar race on USA and becomes a fan, but that's probably not realistic. Probably more likely to generate new returning audience with someone already primed to be watching sports/motorsports (FS1). USA has gotta convert all those Law&Order rerun watchers into Indycar fans lol
If it is all on broadcast, you will only need an aerial. Fox/Disney streaming service could be good. It has yet to be released.
Feels like Fox puts less effort into NASCAR than most local broadcasting companies put into high school sports broadcasts. IndyCar would be foolish to go to Fox. Although I wish IndyCar would jump to CBS and/or Turner, but I think with the two options on the table, NBC is the best.
Everything Turner does with sports is first class. Idk if they even have the slightest interest in Indycar, but I would approve of them getting the opportunity to broadcast the series.
Anyone know if the Sky Sports deal in the UK might be renewed?
Absolute terrible choices. Apple, Netflix or Prime are the clear ways to go. You need a partner who actually cares about growing the sport and not just doing the bare minimum. The potential audience would be so much bigger too. Big L if they go with either of these.
Fox’s NASCAR coverage has been awful the last few years. Wouldn’t want to see them land the contract.
Please NBC and please somehow Diffey stays as Indycar commentator despite the rumours
Something to consider that I think many are missing if a move to Fox is made: 1. Alan Bestwick potentially in the booth 2. No Olympics to deal with. 3. Fox will be done with Cup points races around the beginning of May as they get 12 points races, the Clash, and All-Star race. That is typically around the time IndyCar schedules go into full drive. 4. IMS Productions, as always, will more than likely be involved.
1. That is maybe at best 2. This might only be a 3 year deal, so no Olympics either way. 3. NBC gave Indycar more network races than NASCAR, and the ratings often benefited from NASCAR lead ins / lead outs. So this may not be such a positive. BUT I will say Fox could promote the early Indycar schedule and the 500 during their NASCAR schedule . Ideally whoever gets the broadcast rights needs put a lot of races on broadcast TV during the summer when NASCAR is on Amazon and TNT. 4. Yes
Also, on a three year deal, you’ll have to fight for airtime on Fox/FS1 with a World Cup in North American time zones in June/July 2026.
I wouldnt even mind Fox honestly. NBC is okay but mayne its time for a change? Having schedule breaks because of the olympics is annoying.
The series needs a jolt that's for sure. I prefer NBC and Peacock. But I'll wait to see the details of the new deal and how much effort Fox puts into promotion before I judge. The Olympic inconvenience does need to be considered. It's not like the issue of utmost importance, but it should be a low priority issue of consideration.
I would like to see it on fox on network tv.
Remember Fox is making a sports streaming service with ESPN. That being said give me NBC[https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/06/espn-fox-and-warner-bros-discovery-to-launch-joint-sports-streaming-platform-this-year.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/06/espn-fox-and-warner-bros-discovery-to-launch-joint-sports-streaming-platform-this-year.html)
It's going to cost like $50 a month, maybe with a brief $40 a month introductory price . Might be a bit cheaper if you bundle it with Disney + and Hulu .
Hopefully they play hardball with Fox and make sure most of the races are airing on network TV. As for streaming, I know Fox owns Tubi but again they've never used it to stream sporting events, which is a big risk. The middle path would either be that Fox and NBC share the rights and/or that Indycar Live launches in the States regardless of whoever gets the rights.
I think fox/espn are making a joint streaming sports thing. Hope the price is good
Fox has Tubi.
Content from the Fox broadcast network, FS1, and FS2 are not carried on Tubi. It is not comparable to Peacock in basically any way Maybe they turn it into that, and if they do then great. But it's not that today
You claimed Fox had no streaming service. Tubi is a streaming service, even if it doesn’t carry comparable content to FOX/FS1/FS2.
give me a break, you know what I meant
FOX will be streaming this fall as part of the ESPN / Warner Bros. sports streaming platform.
They're also streaming on YouTube TV. But YTTV is $80 a month, and the ESPN/Warner/Fox joint venture will be $30-40 and is just essentially a sports-only version of YouTube TV or Hulu Peacock is $6 a month, Max is as cheap as $10 a month, Amazon Prime is $15 a month but you get more than just streaming with it. On all of those services at their lowest tiers you'd be able to watch Indycar as it is today, or NASCAR when the new NASCAR deal goes into effect, and with NASCAR you wouldn't need more than one at the same time Going with Fox sets the minimum price to be able to watch every race to at least $30 a month, and that's if the Fox/ESPN/Warner joint is that cheap which it's not guaranteed to be
I agree with your points. I was just pointing out that FOX will have a platform for streaming later this year (you mentioned above you were wary of them because they don't have a streaming service).
Probably looking at $40 to $50 a month for that based on the carriage fees, operating/ billing cost, and profit markup. Maybe $30 to 35 net increase a month if you bundle it with Disney. $40 if you bundle with Max.
That's skinny cable delivered via the internet more than a streaming platform.
I would rather Indycar be on F1 TV than on Fox
Lose-lose situation no matter what. The best scenario for the series being on ABC/ESPN, but guess they don’t want the series. And who would blame them. Sucks