Fox breaks 14-year IndyCar record with St Pete broadcast
Fox has taken over from NBC as IndyCar’s official broadcaster in the US this year
Fox Sports has announced that its broadcast of the 2025 IndyCar season opener on Sunday broke a 14-year record for TV viewership.
The corporation said that the St Petersburg Grand Prix averaged 1.4 million viewers across TV and streaming, the highest for an IndyCar event outside of the Indy 500 since the 2011 Las Vegas race in which Dan Wheldon lost his life in a fatal accident.
Fox also stated that its viewership peaked at 1.82 million from 2:15-2:26 pm, a little over two hours after the scheduled start at midday.
In all, the TV audience for Sunday’s race was up 45% compared to last year’s St Pete race, when NBC garnered 974,700 viewers.
Fox Sport has been heavily investing in its IndyCar coverage after taking over the series’ broadcast rights from NBC.
It has signed renowned Formula 1 presenter Will Buxton as lead commentator to partner current IMSA racer and former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe.
It also produced commercials that aired during NASCAR Playoffs and Super Bowl with the aim of gathering new audiences.
However, Fox also received criticism from certain quarters for its broadcast of the St Pete race. Several viewers on X (formerly Twitter) complained about issues with TV graphics, with the timing tower disappearing during certain key moments - including immediately after qualifying.
Some also felt more information should have been made available on TV to enhance the viewing experience.
