IndyCar Posts Strongest TV Viewership in Nearly Two Decades Under Fox Partnership

IndyCar just closed its best television season in close to 20 years, and the numbers suggest its high-stakes partnership with Fox Corporation is paying off.

The open-wheel series moved all of its races to broadcast network television on Fox starting in 2025, and Fox later deepened the relationship by acquiring a 33% ownership stake in the series. The second season of that arrangement delivered across-the-board viewership gains.

Races on Fox averaged 1.68 million viewers in 2026, a 23% jump from 1.36 million the prior year and a 57% increase over 2024, the final season before the Fox deal began.

A marquee event helped drive the average: the Freedom 250 in Washington, D.C., drew 3.28 million viewers, making it the most-watched IndyCar race outside the Indianapolis 500 since the 2008 merger of CART and the IRL reunified American open-wheel racing. Notably, this year’s Indy 500 itself slipped slightly from its 2025 audience.

The gains also extended well beyond the flagship event. Half of the 2026 races on Fox topped 1 million viewers, up from just five races clearing that bar in 2025, according to Racer. That breadth suggests the audience growth wasn’t confined to a single spectacle.

The results matter for Fox, which is both IndyCar’s broadcast partner and a minority owner. Fox Corporation, classified in the Communication Services sector within the entertainment industry, has a market capitalization of roughly $26.8 billion. Its shares traded at $65.94, up 1.17% from a previous close of $65.18.

The challenge ahead is replicating a season that benefited from a one-time caliber event in the nation’s capital. Still, with viewership rising broadly rather than on the strength of one race, and with Fox financially invested in the series’ trajectory, IndyCar appears to have built genuine momentum on broadcast television for the first time in years.

What to watch

• Race-by-race viewership data for the 2027 season to see whether the gains hold without a Freedom 250-scale event on the calendar.
• Any updates from Fox on scheduling or promotional plans for IndyCar coverage going forward.
• Fox Corporation’s next quarterly earnings report, which may include commentary on sports viewership trends.

Source: original release