As the IndyCar Series prepares for a new era with FOX Sports as its broadcast partner from 2025, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has floated a number of ideas that could improve the overall experience for viewers.

This weekend’s season finale at Nashville Superspeedway marks the end of a run with NBC Sports, which has been the exclusive home of North America’s premier open-wheel championship since 2019 and has been part of the network’s family of series for nearly two decades.

The move to FOX Sports is encouraging for several reasons, including the fact that next year every round will be on the main network, with most Indy NXT rounds airing on FS1.

Eric Shanks, the CEO of FOX Sports, is someone who is “very passionate about IndyCar,” Brown said. And uniquely, there is some familiarity between the two as Shanks ran DirecTV some 20 years ago, and he was one of Brown’s clients before moving into his current role overseeing McLaren’s operations that span Formula 1 and IndyCar with Arrow McLaren, among others.

What Brown Wants to See From the FOX/IndyCar Deal

Brown sees opportunities in the future to present broadcasts in a new way and take the sport to a higher level.

“I’d like to see a lot more data,” Brown told Motorsport.com. “I think the Formula 1 broadcasting is pretty great and a lot of that was driven by David Hill, who used to be the boss at FOX, who Eric Shanks worked with for a long time. I wouldn’t say Eric has called him a mentor because I’ve never heard him say that, but I suspect he is because David was there before Eric.

“So, when you start watching an F1 broadcast, I think that’s where we need to be. What do I mean by that? I think the way they use sectors makes it easier to understand what’s happening. I think the way they use tyres.”

Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

Brown noted that he believes no clear explanation has been given regarding the differences between the impact of the red sidewall (softer alternative tires) and the black sidewall (harder primary compound).

“You know, I hear red and black all the time,” Brown continued. “Talk to me in lap time. Talk to me in red goes off in 10 laps and the blacks go 20 laps; tell me what that means as a viewer, not just that they’re on red or black. And then Formula 1 makes the prediction of, ‘He’s going to pass this driver in six laps – the overcut/undercut. So, all that content. Otherwise you watch a race and it’s a bit like, ‘He’s on red, he’s on black.’ Tell me what that means; red is going to pass him in five laps, but if he doesn’t, the tyres start to fall off after six laps. What does that mean? I know what that means, but I don’t think the average viewer knows what that means, so I’d like to see a lot more technology and strategy – what you see in a Formula 1 broadcast.”

Another element we can improve is the broadcast window.

“The length is better (in F1),” Brown said.

“Too often it’s like we’re late because we’ve had too many yellow cards, so the interview with the winner is like a bang and then it’s over. You know, drivers are the stars. Don’t cram an hour and 59 minutes of content into two hours because if you’re a minute late, you’re not finishing the story. So the fact that it’s been extended, I think is great, so you can build up a bit more before the game/after the game and get to know the drivers; not so rushed. So I think if you start there, you’ll have a much better television product.”