Indy NXT's return to cable pays off

On its own, the season-long average of 110,000 viewers for IndyCar’s Indy NXT training series doesn’t stand out as remarkable.

But considering where it started, the shift from streaming on NBC’s Peacock platform through 2024 with average audiences in the 20,000 range to being surfaced on the FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2 cable channels with more than 100,000 per race delivered a quintupling in reach and awareness for NXT in 2025.

“Our partnership with FOX Sports has vastly increased audience and overall brand awareness for Indy NXT by Firestone. This success showcases how immersive and impactful the FOX relationship is across our entire ecosystem,” IndyCar chief marketing officer Alex Damron told RACER.

As a byproduct of FOX’s all-network placement of IndyCar on its biggest platform, the series experienced a 27-percent year-to-year growth in audience size at 1,362,000 average viewers. With NXT reserved for cable with most races aired on FS1 and some on FS2, the expectations were set lower for its following.

As well, NXT’s longstanding removal from cable presented another challenge as it returned to the airwaves on a new channel with minimal familiarity for its regular audience. Taking the starting point of 110,000 viewers per NXT race, which produced a peak of 192,000 for the Iowa race won by Myles Rowe, and growing it in 2026 is the next challenge for the series and FOX Sports.

Utilizing IndyCar’s app and the series’ digital outlets is a part of the improvement plan.

“Indy NXT by Firestone is also growing digitally, now fully integrated into our mobile app experience and with a significantly larger and engaged social audience," Damron said.