Fox Sports expands IndyCar deal in Australia

Australian pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports has expanded a rights agreement with the IndyCar North American motorsport series for the 2020 season.

The deal has been signed as Scott McLaughlin, the reigning champion of Australia’s Supercars series, prepares to make his IndyCar debut on May 10.

Fox Sports broadcast the 2019 IndyCar season but only showed a one-hour highlights programme following races. Australian rights to the series were previously held by rival pay-television broadcaster ESPN.

The deal bolsters Fox Sports’ motorsport rights portfolio, which already includes Supercars, Formula One and MotoGP. The broadcaster’s Indianapolis 500 coverage will air following F1’s Monaco Grand Prix earlier in the day.

The IndyCar series took its international media rights in-house in 2019 after the appointment of former ESPN International executive Heather White. ESPN International had held international rights to IndyCar but White left the agency and joined IndyCar as a media rights consultant.

Fox Sports’ live IndyCar coverage begins on March 16 with the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida. Races will be available to stream on Kayo Sports and Foxtel Go.

The race on May 10 will be shown live on Foxtel and Kayo Sports. Fox Sports’ coverage of the series will also include the Indianapolis 500 on May 25.