FOX Sports has released viewership information for its second season returning as the broadcaster of the NTT IndyCar Series.
There were an average of 1,681,000 viewers per race across the 2027 season, which was a 23% increase in viewership over last season.
The leading broadcast for the season was undoubtedly the 110th Indianapolis 500, which drew 6.6 million viewers.
IndyCar’s special race around the streets of Washington D.C. drew a surprisingly comparable number of viewers, however, bringing in 3.2 million viewers on race day.
Overall, IndyCar had nine races with at least 1,000,000 viewers, and a higher average TV rating than any year since 2008.
The high viewership comes despite Alex Palou’s continued dominance and ultimate clinching of his fourth consecutive championship in Milwaukee.
Eric Shanks, CEO of FOX Sports, has a particular affinity for IndyCar racing, and he has personally helped advance the promotion strategy on his network.
FOX often runs highly produced commercials, airs numerous replays of races, and cross-promotes the series on its other popular sports broadcasts.
All of which were not regular features under NBC’s tenure as broadcast partner, and combine to help bring awareness to the series.
High viewership figures not only bring monetary returns to FOX itself, but help IndyCar teams demand a premium for their own sponsorships and brings extra money into the sport from multiple directions.
Even IndyCar’s feeder series IndyNXT improved on its viewers across the 2026 season, improving 14% and averaging 127,000 viewers for each race. All of those races aired on pay TV channel FS1.
The series produced a tight championship fight that went to the final race, and ended with 18-year-old Nikita Johnson earning the title for Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR.
FOX Sports will continue to be the series broadcast partner for at least the next couple years, and plans are for the continued presentation of all races on FOX’s free-to-air channels.
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