IMSA and NBC extend media rights agreement
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., _ The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) and NBC Sports have agreed to a multi-year extension of their media rights agreement, keeping NBC Sports as home of the flagship IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and other IMSA-sanctioned series.
As part of the agreement, NBC Sports will air 17 hours of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship coverage on the NBC broadcast network annually, nearly a 50 percent increase of broadcast network coverage per year from the prior agreement. Additionally, all WeatherTech Championship coverage will stream live on Peacock.
NBC Sports’ IMSA viewership has grown 37 percent during the past five years since acquiring media rights prior to the 2019 season. The 2023 season was NBC Sports’ most-watched to-date (since 2019), delivering a 13 percent year-over-year viewership increase for its coverage on NBC and USA Network. Additionally, this year’s IMSA coverage on Peacock has seen roughly a 60 percent increase in total minutes streamed to-date vs. last year.
“Our partnership with NBC Sports has produced viewership increases for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship every year from our first year in 2019 through last season,” IMSA President John Doonan said. “We also have managed to deliver impressive audience growth on Peacock, which is an especially valuable platform for delivering live, flag-to-flag coverage of endurance races to our domestic race fans.
“We are thrilled to confirm not only an extension of our relationship with NBC Sports, but nearly a 50 percent increase in the number of hours on the NBC broadcast network beginning next year.”
The new agreement is well-timed, leading into NBC Sports’ IMSA coverage this weekend of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International on USA Network and Peacock.
“We’re proud to continue our partnership with IMSA as the home of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and its support series,” said Justin Byczek, SVP, Programming and Rights Management, NBC Sports. “From the Rolex 24 at Daytona to Petit Le Mans, fans will be able to enjoy every moment of IMSA’s high-quality, competitive racing across NBC Sports’ linear and digital platforms for years to come.”
