Terms were unclear besides the sides calling the pact “multiyear"Richard Prince/Corvette Racing
NBC Sports Group has arranged a long-term extension with the IMSA sports car series, pointing to how the Comcast-owned network will still have a heavy dose of motorsports
even after losing IndyCar.
The renewal, which begins with the 2025 season, will be announced Friday. Terms were unclear besides the sides calling the pact “multiyear,” but IMSA is owned by NASCAR Holdings, whose eponymous stock car series just signed a seven-year extension with NBC from 2025 through 2031.
Highlights of the renewed term include 17 annual hours of IMSA action on NBC’s free-to-air broadcast network, an almost 50% increase compared to the last cycle. All of the series’ racing action will also air on Peacock.
IMSA President John Doonan said the extension follows other recent deals that are “frankly about stability” for IMSA. He pointed to deals with premier series title sponsor WeatherTech through 2030 and official tire Michelin through 2028. Doonan noted that NASCAR execs Steve Phelps, Steve O’Donnell and Brian Herbst were among those who helped complete the NBC extension, an example of how integrated IMSA is into NASCAR’s operations.
The annual Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in late January is IMSA’s premier event, and it has a stunning 18 different carmakers in its series, compared to just three in NASCAR, two in IndyCar and a handful in F1.
That includes the likes of Lamborghini, Porsche, Acura and BMW. Still, the series’ ratings pale in comparison to NASCAR, though they are up 37% since NBC got the rights in 2019. Last year was the most-watched season to date, up 13%, according to the sides.
Doonan noted that with the 18 carmakers on top of other partners, “one of those key value points for us is the broadcast of our race events on network and Peacock and most recently on some international distribution, but the key is value for the partners.” Doonan said there “wasn’t a need to test the market” for its media rights this cycle, as NBC has shown itself fit to air the complicated sport of endurance racing, which has races that last from a couple hours up to even 24 hours in duration.
Doonan: “It’s very difficult to get any network to commit to flag-to-flag coverage of that length of a race, so to gain network coverage for our format is critically important and shows value to the partners but confidence from NBC that this property deserves that.”
IndyCar announced last week that it is switching to Fox Sports for its media rights next year after a six-year run of NBC Sports being its full-season partner.
