Although the Indianapolis 500 should be a ratings bonanza for FOX Sports on May 25, the 11 races remaining on the IndyCar schedule after the 500 are giving the network a cause for concern.
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That’s why FOX announced it will shift five of those 11 races to more favorable broadcast time windows, including the first-ever Sunday night IndyCar race on network television, to be held at World Wide Technology Raceway just outside St. Louis, Missouri.
That race in particular should see a significant ratings boost, as it will come in the evening of Father’s Day, and at a time (8 pm ET) where families that have gathered together to celebrate may be looking for something to end a family event on a high note.
“This is a massive primetime showcase under the lights for the stars of the IndyCar series,” IndyCar president Doug Boles told the Indianapolis Star. He continued, “This is also a tremendous display of partnership from both Fox Sports and our friends at World Wide Technology Raceway, who’ve worked with us to generate this exciting opportunity for our sport.”
“Race weekend in St. Louis is just a month away, and fans in venue and around the country are in for a real treat when IndyCar arrives in town,” Boles added.
The reason for moving the start times for the five rescheduled races is simple: FOX has not achieved the ratings it had anticipated when it signed a multi-year exclusive deal with IndyCar that put the series’ all 17 races on the primary FOX Sports network. With the exception of the season-opening race in St. Petersburg, Florida, ratings have apparently not been what FOX had expected.
And with the 24-race meat of the NASCAR schedule heating up — and FOX having lost NASCAR to other networks for the remainder of the season — NASCAR is in a position to continue winning the ratings battle when Cup races go head-to-head against IndyCar.
Ergo, that’s why the five races have had their start times moved, to avoid conflict with NASCAR broadcasts at the same time.
Why the five race times are being moved
The WWTR race is an excellent example of why FOX and IndyCar are moving the start times. Had the race near St. Louis gone off at its originally scheduled time, it would have gone head-to-head with the NASCAR Cup broadcast from Mexico City on Amazon Prime.
That race is expected to bring a significant ratings draw as it’s the first Cup race ever held in Mexico, Cup driver and Mexican native Daniel Suarez has a large Hispanic following which, Prime hopes, would tune in.
But by now starting five hours later, it will give IndyCar an almost exclusive audience, unless the Cup race in Mexico City gets delayed due to weather.
According to the Indy Star, the other four races that have had their start times shifted will eliminate any other head-to-head conflicts with NASCAR this season, although there likely will still be some overlap between the closing part of each IndyCar race and the start of the competing NASCAR Cup races those days. The move should be a success in boosting the lagging IndyCar ratings.
