NEW YORK—They may have fallen short in the Western Conference finals, but the Oklahoma City Thunder topped the list of most-watched NBA teams in 2025-26, drawing 1.8 million viewers per game in the regular season, according to Nielsen viewing data.

The No. 2 team was the Los Angeles Lakers—the team that boasted the most-watched player, per Nielsen, in LeBron James—followed by the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks.

Another participant in this week’s NBA Finals, San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, trailed James as the league’s second-most-watched player.

Nielsen’s Spring 2026 “Tops of Sports’ report also noted double-digit growth in viewership across pro basketball (up 27%), NHL hockey (25%), auto racing (44%) and golf (12%*), fueled by new streaming and broadcast options, the massive popularity of global stars and changing ways that fans follow their favorite teams.

More specifically, the NBA’s average audience for regular-season games was up 27%, with the early rounds of the playoffs seeing a 10% bump. The league benefited from new media-rights deals that helped it reach younger viewers on streamers Prime Video, Peacock and ESPN Unlimited while still drawing larger audiences on broadcasters ABC and NBC and cable network ESPN.

The NHL is also experiencing a major boost, with average regular-season viewership up 25% to 540,000 viewers per game, and the first round of the playoffs up 77%, to 1.2 million viewers. The growth was bolstered by significant cultural moments involving hockey, such as the gold medal wins by the U.S. men’s and women’s ice hockey teams at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, Prime Video’s hit series “Off-Campus” and drama series “Heated Rivalry” on HBO Max, which notched nearly 2 billion streaming minutes in the first quarter, Nielsen said.

Followers of the NHL’s official TikTok account were up 83% this season, Nielsen reported. Further demonstrating America’s growing interest, the national TV debut of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) drew about 133,000 viewers to Ion, with 45% of the audience women 18-plus. In addition, demonstrating the buying power of hockey fans, NHL viewers rank No. 3 in median income among all sports watchers.

Last year’s Indianapolis 500 averaged more than 7 million viewers, the most in 17 years. The 2026 IndyCar season is already off to a strong start, with the first five races averaging 1.2 million viewers, 44% higher than the same period in 2025. Viewer interest is also rising, with 19% of respondents reporting being somewhat or very interested in IndyCar this March, up from 15% in March of 2023.

So far this year, the PGA Tour is averaging 1.5 million viewers. Efforts to evolve the franchise’s social media presence may be paying off, as Nielsen Scarborough data shows a steady increase in interest since 2023. *An influx of young Asian talent like Collin Morikawa, Akshay Bhatia, and Si Woo Kim looks to be helping to expand the tour’s audience, with Asian viewership to PGA Tour events up 12% so far this year.

RONCO SCRIVIA, Italy—Racing Force Group has announced a multi-year agreement to supply its Driver’s Eye technology to Fox Sports, the TV rights holder of the NTT Indycar Series. Following the success of its introduction at selected rounds in 2025, starting from the 2026 season the system will be integrated into the broadcast coverage of every event during the season.

Driver’s Eye, developed and patented by Zeronoise, the electronics division of Racing Force Group, is the world’s smallest micro-camera designed for live broadcasting, the company claims. In 2023, Racing Force Group inked deals with Fox Sports and NASCAR to use Driver's Eye for the NASCAR Cup Series events aired by Fox Sports, as well as a similar agreement to deploy the technology in F1 cars.

“We are thrilled to continue our collaboration with Fox Sports to integrate Driver’s Eye into the television coverage of the NTT Indycar Series," said Alex Haristos, Chief Operating Officer of Racing Force Group. Following the excitement generated during selected events in the 2025 season, including the Indianapolis 500, it’s fantastic to extend the Driver's Eye presence to every round, with the goal of making the viewing experience even more engaging and immersive for fans thanks to our leading-edge technology.”

In Indycar, Racing Force Group said it was first deployed at the 2025 Grand Prix of Long Beach: fitted into the helmet of Kyle Kirkwood, it delivered a live, first-person view from the cockpit of the race winner. Driver’s Eye was also featured during the Indianapolis 500, further showcasing its capabilities.

The FIA-homologated system is installed inside the race helmets to offer TV viewers a fully immersive experience from the driver’s exact point of view during the race. The micro-camera measures just 9x9 millimeters and weighs only 1,43 grams.

The 2026 NTT Indycar Series season will kick off with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg this coming Sunday, March 1, and will feature a total of 18 races, including the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500, scheduled for May 24.

INDIANAPOLIS—When Fox Sports Executive Vice President of Technical and Field Operations Michael Davies reviews his organization’s inaugural Indianapolis 500 production from May 25, he does so with a mix of satisfaction, anticipation about what to do differently in 2026 and a degree of humility.

“The whole experience was humbling,” he said. “You know, when you go into something and you really don’t know what you’re getting into, you have to figure out a lot of it as you go along. “You only get a finite amount of those [first-time major broadcasts] in your career, and that was one of them.”

[Also Read: Fox Sports Preps for ‘Mini Super Bowl’ of Motorsports in Indianapolis]

This year’s 109th Indianapolis 500 was the first time Fox Sports produced the race under a deal announced June 2024 awarding exclusive media rights for the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series races to the broadcaster. Fox Sports took over video production of the race from NBC Sports, which had held rights to the iconic motorsports event since 2019, following a 54-year run on ABC.

Working with Indy Motor Sports Productions on the production of the race contributed to the broadcaster’s first-time win at Indy. “We linked arms with Indy Motor Sports Productions and they were fantastic. I can say from this experience that it was that cooperation that made this Indy 500 a success,” Davies said.

Three In-Car Enhancements
To Davies, three enhancements—one each involving video, audio and augmented reality (AR) graphics—in cars stood out as production innovations that made watching the race more engaging for fans.

“The inside-out view from the driver’s eye cameras really shows just how fast these cars were going,” Davies said. “As fast as they go in NASCAR, the 240 miles per hour they go at Indy is flat-out ridiculous.”

The cameras embedded into the helmets of six drivers at this year’s race were a success overall; however, a couple of them experienced “some small technical issues,” he noted, adding, “I think we’ll get better at using them.”

Fox Sports’ use of a head-up display (HUD) to present real-time telemetry for the cars “in a way that hadn’t been seen at Indy” added a new element for Indy 500 race fans, Davies said. “We kind of borrowed that idea from Formula One, but it worked great for Indy, too.”

To enhance the audio from the cars, the broadcaster placed microphones on each side of the Indy cars to “make it sound even better,” he says.

Drones and Ghost Car
Fox Sports strategically deployed two drones to enhance its two-hour prerace show and coverage of the race. Beverly Hills Aerials, which partnered with the broadcaster, piloted a modified DJI Inspire drone outfitted with a paintable broadcast camera and an FPV racing drone, which Fox Sports uses widely in its NASCAR coverage.

“When you’re talking about drone coverage, you add this in-between layer,” he said. “You’ve got ground coverage cameras, hard cameras and on-board cameras, the RF cameras. Then there’s the aerial, which is vital, because it shows strategy. Drones deliver an intermediate type of shot that shows racing caution, laps and pit stops in a totally different way.”

The broadcaster also used the drones during its prerace show with different sets. “We were able to fly around to the different talent locations to show the Indy Motor Speedway and the kind of vast edifice it is and set the tone for the race,” Davies recalls.

Overall, drones have contributed significantly to the broadcaster’s coverage of Indy. “The use of drones in IndyCar—not only at the Indy 500 but on the Road Course—is one of the single biggest things that I think Fox is doing for the sport,” Davies said.

Like drones, which Fox Sports began using in NASCAR a decade ago, the broadcaster brought its virtual Ghost Car to the Indy 500 to add another dimension to its coverage of the qualifiers. “I think adding in the competitive aspect of showing a car as it was racing and placing something that doesn’t exist [the Ghost Car] and making it exist through the art of virtual technology was a fantastic addition,” he said.

“Zac Fields [Fox Sports senior vice president of graphic technology and integration] is the master of doing this stuff,” Davies says. “I think virtual graphics on Indy motorsports is kind of the next frontier of enhancement.”

Nip and Tuck for 2026
Shortly after the race, Davies and his team began the process of doing postmortems on coverage while the event was still fresh in their minds. “There are always ‘nips and tucks,’ but we were really happy with the coverage,” he said.

Davies has already begun to think about what those “nips and tucks” entail for next year’s coverage. Top of mind is the addition of a third drone, more driver’s eye cameras and additional data-driven features to convey more about what is going on with the cars as they circle the speedway, such as the temperature of tires.

“We’re going to get better at getting at things like tire temperatures, which are really important for oval track races,” he said.

Leveraging artificial intelligence to record, organize and catalog conversations between racers and their teams is in development and may be ready for the 2026 edition of the race. The broadcaster is also at work on an AI-driven application that makes driver audio clearer, so it sounds less like a radio transmission and more like a digital microphone, Davies said.

Another effort that may change how the broadcaster covers the race is the deployment of a private 5G network. “We’re looking at this with our two major motorsports partners to figure out how we can use a private network to enhance what we do—not just for broadcast, but for everything, including cameras, communications, telemetry and bidirectional,” he said.

“You know, you always find a million things that you’d want to do better—a million things that you could have enhanced,” Davies said. “But at the end of the day, if you walk away from the Indy 500 looking to build on what you’ve done instead of change what you’ve done, then you know you’ve had a success.”

Fox announced today that it has signed a new multi-year agreement that will make Fox Sports the new exclusive home of the NTT IndyCar SERIES and the iconic Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge beginning in 2025.

Fox says the new media rights deal “provides a massive and unprecedented increase in exposure for North America’s premier open-wheel racing series.” Every IndyCar race starting in 2025 will air on Fox as well as on the Fox Sports app. Fox Deportes will carry exclusive Spanish-language television coverage with a schedule to be announced at a later date.

Fox will also provide coverage of Indy 500 qualifications on both Saturday and Sunday, bringing the total number of broadcast network windows to 19, a new record for the NTT IndyCar SERIES, Fox said. IndyCar will become the only premier motorsport in the United States with exclusive major broadcast network coverage for all of its races.

“This represents unrivaled exposure and provides an unparalleled growth opportunity for the most competitive and entertaining motorsport on the planet,” said IndyCar CEO Mark Miles. “Fox Sports is a fully committed partner, ready to bring engaging and technically innovative coverage to millions of fans across the country while also promoting INDYCAR thoroughly across all its platforms.”

The 2025 NTT IndyCar SERIES season kicks off with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 2 and concludes with the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, August 31. The 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge takes place on Sunday, May 25. The full schedule was released today and can be viewed here.

Indy 500 Race Day coverage will be extensive for fans across the country, with a five-hour window on Fox set aside for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The Indy 500 is annually the world’s largest single-day spectator sporting event, attracting a crowd of more than 300,000 people to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, according to IndyCar.

Additional announcements, including on-air talent, will be announced at a later date.

INDIANAPOLIS—NTT and Penske Entertainment have announced that they will be providing an enhanced, more immersive experience for INDYCAR fans in time for the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 29. 

“Fans are the lifeblood of our series,” said Mark Miles, CEO of Penske Entertainment. “INDYCAR will continue investing in the incredible technology that brings fans closer to the action and we have a great partner with NTT. They are consistently bringing forward new innovations to help us engage a global audience. Last year, we saw fan engagement increase at an unprecedented rate. We hope to continue on that trajectory with the help of NTT.”

NTT has gathered millions of data points from prior seasons and the first five events of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES utilizing its data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twin capabilities to deliver more in-depth, real-time and predictive insights, the companies said. 

NTT provides fans with data-driven predictions, ranging from the best overtake opportunities to how pit and fuel strategies will play out during a race. 

NTT INDYCAR SERIES fans can access these predictive analytics for the entire season by following the NTT INDYCAR SERIES social media channels, where insights will be displayed during races including the upcoming Indianapolis 500.  

In addition, NTT will continue supplying these insights and analytics to NBC’s production team with plans underway for broadcast inclusion as the season moves forward.

To accomplish this, NTT creates a digital twin for every car. A digital twin uses historical data as a foundation to mirror a physical object, like a car. Each car has more than 140 sensors collecting millions of data points during the race, which are fed into the digital twin to produce predictions based on historical performance and real-time conditions. 

As the longest race of the season with 500 miles/200 laps of competition, the Indy 500 will yield more data than any other race, with more than eight billion data points collected. This allows NTT to predict race strategy with a high level of accuracy using AI and predictive analytics, giving an insider’s view of what is happening on the track, and forecasts that - until now - only a race team engineer would have known.

The INDYCAR Data Insights powered by NTT include:

• Race strategies and predictions
• Intercepts and battles for position
• Pit stop performance impact
• Effects of fuel levels and tire wear

“We’ve leveled up the interactive experience for fans with actual digital twins of each racecar and more predictive analytics, so INDYCAR fans can feel as close to the driver’s seat as possible,” said Eric Clark, chief digital officer, NTT DATA Services. “For us, this 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 is an exciting milestone in an already engaging season. We look forward to bringing more innovation and leading-edge digital technology to our friends at Penske Entertainment so they may continue to reach new heights in one of the largest and longest running traditions in sports.”

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the world’s largest sports venue with capacity to host crowds in excess of 350,000, has been transformed into a Smart Venue using NTT’s Smart Solutions, improving the visitor experience for attendees and employees alike. Operations and security teams have improved visibility into current and possible scenarios with digital twin technology, as well as AI-enabled optical detection providing real-time view of the venue, including visitor and vehicle traffic flow and congestion, they’re able to optimize resources in real time and make faster, data-driven decisions. NTT’s Smart Solutions also benefit fans through the IMS Mobile App, which updates predictions of gate entry wait times and peak traffic areas every 30 seconds to allow fans to better plan their entry into the venue.

“NTT delivers co-innovation with our clients every day and the work we’re doing with INDYCAR is a perfect example of this,” said Peter Cutts, chief advisory and innovation officer, NTT Ltd. “The interconnected digital backbone and platform NTT developed for INDYCAR leverages new and emerging technologies that enable INDYCAR to push the envelope by reaching new audiences and changing the way fans engage in sport. The applications for this disruptive business model are limitless and can be applied to other industries such as connected cities, healthcare, manufacturing facilities and beyond.”

More information about the work NTT is doing with Penske Entertainment and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is available here. 

SPEEDWAY, IN.—ABC’s 54th telecast of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race—a Memorial Day tradition—will be the network’s last, bringing a five-decades-long legacy to an end. A part of the Verizon IndyCar Series, the “Indy 500” will be broadcast Sunday, May 27, 2018—starting with the pre-race show at 11am ET—across the network’s many distribution outlets, as well as mobile devices using the ESPN App and WatchABC App. Beginning in 2019, broadcasts of the Indy500 and other IndyCar races will be broadcast on the NBC broadcast network and NBCSN.  

Regarded as one of ESPN’s largest and most complex television productions, the 2018 Indy 500 will utilize 110 cameras—a record for this event—covering on-track action from dozens of locations. Four super Slo-Mo cameras will be situated around the track, one at each turn, to enhance replay coverage.

The camera complement includes a variety of specialty cameras that will provide unique viewpoints, including cameras mounted on inside and outside of competing cars, on a crew member’s helmet, as well as on a parachutist dropping into the high-profile race’s venue, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

ABC will also provide a second screen experience where viewers using the ESPN App will be able to choose between the different live video streams coming from the four on-board cameras mounted within 14 competing cars. Drivers that will have on-board cameras in their cars include: Danica Patrick, who is competing in the final race of her career, defending Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato, Graham Rahal, Scott Dixon, and 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden.

[Read: Indy 500 Aims To Speed Into Living Rooms]

Sato and Rahal will also have a tiny visor cam on their helmets, giving fans a unique driver’s perspective of how it feels to be inside the car. And Blair Julian, left front tire changer for Dixon’s pit crew, will wear an “over the wall” camera on his helmet, giving viewers an exclusive look at pit stop action.

The production will also include: 210 microphones, 16 EVS machines with 123 record and playback channels, nine mobile units, four uplinks transmitting 17 satellite paths, and roughly 170,000 feet of fiber cable runs connecting the equipment.

Among the 150 technical crew members will be Senior Coordinating Producer Amy Rosenfeld, Producer Jim Gaiero, Director Bruce Watson, and Coordinating Producer Kate Jackson, who will produce the prerace show with Chip Dean directing.

In light of the historical significance, the telecast will feature a variety of pre-produced video packages, including a tribute to ABC’s 54 consecutive years of coverage, starting with its first on “ABC’s Wide World of Sports” in 1965. Other race-related features, documentaries, and race coverage can be found on ESPN SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, ESPN+, ESPN Classic, ESPN International, and the WatchABC App. 

BRISTOL, CONN.—IndyCar fans will be able to get the driver’s point of view of the racetrack during ABC/ESPN broadcasts of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series. This new technology, along with a new predictive analytics system designed specifically for IndyCar, will premiere with the Firestone Grand Prix.

Dubbed “Visor Cam,” a tiny camera is now able to be mounted on to a driver’s helmet to provide a unique view that will be used during ABC’s course description segment. The camera will not be used during the race due to possible interference with competition. Instead footage will be shot during a practice for the event.

ESPN’s new predictive analysis system, designed by Pit Rho, will be used to supplement the scoring tickers and graphics with additional information like tire compound choices, laps on tires, fuel windows, optimal laps for pitting, as well as predictive analysis of positions, lap time falloff and probability of cautions.

The Firestone Grand Prix, which will take place March 12, will be one of four Verizon IndyCar series races broadcast on ABC this year.