Fox strikes gold with reported $30M+ Indycar ad spend as 126 million tune in to most-watched Super Bowl ever

IndyCar’s exclusive broadcasting rights were taken by FOX from NBC starting in 2025 as the deal was signed in mid-2024. FOX has released multiple IndyCar promos, which were aired during the 2025 Super Bowl, as the media group was able to justify its $30M+ spend on the commercials.

FOX released the Josef Newgarden promo featuring Tom Brady in mid-January, followed by the release of the Alex Palou and Pato O'Ward promo two weeks apart from each other. The exclusive broadcaster reportedly paid over $30M for the advertisement space during the Super Bowl.

As per multiple sources, a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl reportedly cost $7.5M-$8M, and with all three promos being well over the 40-second mark, the total cost could amount to a little over $30M. However, the viewership numbers were recently released for the 2025 Super Bowl.

FOX Sports PR’s X account uploaded the numbers, which suggested that the game averaged a viewership of 126 Million, breaking the 2024 record of 123 Million. The average viewership numbers are from Fox, Fox Deportes, Tubi, Telemundo, and NFL Digital Properties. The tweet read:

“NEW NO. 1! 🏆 A projected 126 million viewers watched #SuperBowlLIX – delivering new record-high viewership for the Super Bowl.”

FOX spent more on the advertisement of the IndyCar promos during the Super Bowl than they did for acquiring the exclusive broadcasting rights of the series. The media house reportedly paid $25M for the rights, whereas the ad spend for the Super Bowl was over $30M.

According to Kantar, “Super Bowl ads delivered an average return on investment (ROI) of $4.60 per dollar spent, with many brands in the double digits.” As per this, FOX's return on investment for the IndyCar promo at the Super Bowl will be well over $130M, making spending the humongous figure worthwhile.

Josef Newgarden hails IndyCar's broadcasting partner at the Super Bowl

Josef Newgarden after winning the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden was present for the 2025 Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The IndyCar driver attended the game with his wife Ashley, and posted pictures from the excursion on social media platform X, as he hailed FOX for putting on a great show. His tweet read:

“Football, sidekick, and all the good food. Such a fun weekend in NOLA. @FOXSports puts on a great show ✌️”

Josef Newgarden previously came out and hailed FOX for its effort before the promo featuring Tom Brady was launched which received a positive response from the fans. The Team Penske driver said on the Pit Pass Indy podcast:

“I think Fox will be pivotal in our championship and what IndyCar represents in this story that we're gonna be projecting. I think they will do our championship justice. I think they will show our stories in a great way and they'll bring it to a wider audience.” [28:10 onwards]

FOX will also be promoting the open-wheel racing series during the broadcast of other sports i.e. NASCAR and NFL.