Indy 500: NBC Sports Is Back in Full Force at The Speedway, Adds Peacock-Exclusive Pre-Race Show 120+ cameras will cover the 107th edition of the iconic race By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Friday, May 26, 2023 - 11:58 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
NBC Sports is pulling out all the stops at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) for its coverage of the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. More than 120 cameras will be deployed to cover the race itself on NBC, and an exclusive two-hour pre-race show will stream on Peacock at 9 a.m. and a 1 -hour pre-race show simulcast on NBC at 11 a.m.
The race itself is obviously one of a kind, says NBC Sports producer Rene Hatelid, who will be at the front bench for the third consecutive year. But it's all the pomp and circumstance leading up to the start that makes this different from any other race of the year. The bagpipers walking out, the jet flyovers - the entire scene is just amazing. We want our pictures to make everybody watching wish they were there in person. We've been planning with the track as far back as November of last year to make sure we have everything covered for all the pre-race ceremonies. It's going to be a very special day.
Pre-Race Coverage: Peacock Spreads Its Wings in Lead-Up to the Green Flag In all, NBC Sports Group will deliver seven hours of live race-day programming from IMS as part of more than 60 hours of total IndyCar coverage during May. NBC and Peacock have been covering all practice, qualifying, and warm-up sessions since May 16, and Peacock will provide exclusive coverage of Carb Day, the Indy 500 Parade, and Victory Celebration during race weekend. It all culminates this Sunday with The Greatest Spectacle in Racing in front of 300,000 fans in the stands and millions more watching at home on NBC and Peacock.
The additional 9:00-11:00 a.m. programming on Peacock will allow NBC Sports to showcase the Peacock Pit Box (which is outfitted with two robotic cameras and a mini jib), the Snake Pit, and the overall build-up of excitement leading into the event. Host Mike Tirico and studio analyst and former IndyCar driver Danica Patrick will be on hand at the Peacock Pit Box, and motorsports analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. and NASCAR analyst Steve Letarte will be reporting from Snake Pit and throughout IMS.
We pride ourselves on moving all our [on-air talent] around throughout the event and finding interesting new locations to go live from, says Hatelid. If you were to show up at any point in time, we want to make sure we're exactly where the action is at that moment. We'll have Danica and Mike bringing in a rolling group of guests in the Pit Box and Junior and Steve moving all around. We're just making sure we are where the action is happening.
120+ Cameras: In-Car Cams, Drones, Specialty Jibs, and More In terms of cameras, the Indy 500 is always among the biggest - if not the biggest - live production on the annual sports calendar. This year's complement of 120+ cameras scattered across IMS includes 60 in-car cameras across 15 cars, both a heavy lift and a small drone from Beverly Hills Aerial, two Steadicams, an 80-ft. StradaCrane jib, a TechnoCrane, two standard jibs, eight roving RF handhelds, eight super-slo-mo cameras (including an ultra-high-speed start/finish line-cam from Fletcher), and 10 panning robos from IMS Productions (IMSP).
The two drones were a big hit last year, notes Hatelid. We're excited to have them back again. Nearly half the field has onboard cameras this year, which is pretty impressive. But it all comes down to the way that our director Sean Owens uses them, and the pictures he's able to create are amazing.
As it does every year, NBC Sports is working closely with IMS Productions, sharing production resources and facilities. IMSP trucks HD-5, B1, C1, Ops 1, Net Ops, and TX- 4 will be in the compound. NBC also has Lyon 18 serving its pre-race coverage and in-race EVS and Spotter needs. Two BSI units provide RF support in the compound, along with BSI Blue in the infield. Four office trailers are on hand for production support, and all power is provided by Cat Entertainment Services' 500-kW twin-pack generators as well as a 100-kW tow pack.
The Speedway has also been an amazing partner, says NBC Sports Tech Manager Matt Hogencamp, [and] the most vital partner with NBC for this event is IMSP.
He describes IMSP President Kevin Sublette; Director, Broadcast Operations, Ken Ferguson, and Technical Managers Wright Hugus and Alex Milton as the dream team. They do IndyCar week in and week out at an amazing level. Their sense of teamwork and dedication to a quality production is unmatched. Their engineering team, lead by [Director, Engineering,] Jason King and [Supervising Engineer/EIC] Steve Dixon, is the definition of professionalism.
In the booth, play-by-play caller Leigh Diffey and analyst Townsend Bell will be calling their fifth consecutive Indy 500 and commentator James Hinchcliffe his second. Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Dave Burns, and Dillon Welch will serve as pit reporters, and Tirico, Patrick, Earnhardt Jr., and Letarte will contribute to the broadcast throughout the race.
Everyone put their heart and soul into these past couple of weeks leading up to the race, says Hatelid. The team that we have put together is hands down the best in the business in my opinion. It's an honor and a privilege to work with them. I know how much they care, and we all look forward to what happens on Sunday because it truly is The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
North America Stories
09/05/2025
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Studio Technologies said the Harvard University athletics department has integrated Dante-enabled equipment from the vendor into its broadcast ...
09/05/2025
NEW YORK ITN, a provider of a local linear supply side platform, and Magnite, a independent sell-side advertising company, have announced that they working toge...
09/05/2025
LEEDS, U.K. Nugen Audio has launched a new speech intelligibility plug-in, DialogCheck and offered up quotes from technologists working at places like Netflix p...
09/05/2025
AJA I/O Gear: The Heart of Broadcast Solutions' VEGO Mobile Editing Solution
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
When working remotely on broadcas...
09/05/2025
What do they teach in an Advanced Adobe After Effects Course?
Roland Kahlenberg May 8, 2025
0 Comments
There aren't many advanced After Effects co...
09/05/2025
Larry Jordan Sits with Trevor Morgan of OpenDrives at NAB 2025
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
Trevor Morgan, COO of OpenDrives, shares how the co...
09/05/2025
Berklee Popular Music Institute Announces UK Festival Debut and Tour Dates For the first time, BPMI will bring Berklee-affiliated artists and students to the ...
08/05/2025
A sinister fairy infiltrates a desperate family in Kenneth Dagatan's In My Mother's Skin, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Photo co...
08/05/2025
For skyward-bound operators, training focuses on the unique aspects of flying ISR missions, including the management of onboard surveillance equipment and the e...
08/05/2025
The cable industry has told the Federal Communications Commission it supports the National Association of Broadcasters' proposal to allow broadcasters to us...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Consumer Technology Association has continued its opposition to mandates requiring that NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 tuners be included in new TV sets, sa...
08/05/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real time visualization, has named Paul Maroni as Vice Pres...
08/05/2025
This year's UK Pavilion in hall 5, once again managed by Tradefair, will provide visitors with the unique opportunity to discuss and be involved in cutting ...
08/05/2025
Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its latest energy-efficient transmitters and 5G Broadcast technologies, designed to support network operators and content provider...
08/05/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group has tapped Bill Nardi as vice president of station operations, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day broadcast operations ...
08/05/2025
SEATTLE LumaTouch is partnering with CNN Academy to improve mobile storytelling techniques and support training across all of CNN Academy's training simulat...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Society of Broadcast Engineers has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission that support a proposal by the National Association ...
08/05/2025
Senior adviser to the United States Agency for Global Media Kari Lake has announced that One America News Network (OAN) will provide newsfeed services for fre...
08/05/2025
EdMon Expands as AI-Driven Post Production Workflows Gains Traction in Sweden an...
08/05/2025
Using Luma Mattes in Adobe Premiere Pro
Graham Quince May 7, 2025
0 Comments
This very quick tutorial shows you how to take an RGB clip and apply its ...
08/05/2025
OpenDrives Unveils Free Your Data' Initiative with New Astraeus Cloud-Nativ...
08/05/2025
Student Spotlight: Grigori Balasanyan The Armenian composer, who was named Boston Conservatory at Berklees 2025 student commencement speaker, talks about his ...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Unveils New Premieres Spanning Film and Music
Slick Rick's Victory with Idris Elba a...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Announces Lineup for Inaugural Storytelling Summit
11-Day Industry Event Launches with Tal...
08/05/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Vizrt's Nicholas Jameson on AI in Workflows, Pushing Boundarie...
08/05/2025
Creating Alternative Brand Experiences: Live Sports in the Age of Fortnite, Meta...
08/05/2025
PGA TOUR's David Piccolo: Advanced Graphics and Virtual Production Tools are...
08/05/2025
Tech Focus: Advancing Immersion in Sports Broadcasting with AR and Virtual Produ...
08/05/2025
Back to All News
Now in Production: Comedy Action Film Husbands in Action'...
08/05/2025
Artificial intelligence is helping identify and treat diseases faster with better results for humankind. Natural disasters like wildfires are next.
Fires in th...
08/05/2025
Calling all wiseguys - 2K's acclaimed Mafia franchise is available to stream...
08/05/2025
As AI use cases continue to expand - from document summarization to custom software agents - developers and enthusiasts are seeking faster, more flexible ways t...
07/05/2025
Warsaw, Poland - April 28, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has released its latest March All Screens Video Landscap...
07/05/2025
LONDON Movie fans hoping to save money by waiting until their favorite new films appear on streaming services will have to wait a bit longer now, according to a...
07/05/2025
MECCA, Saudi Arabia Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA) has selected Grass Valley to provide a major technology upgrade of its broadcast facility here....
07/05/2025
Sony and Nevion provide guidance on IP network architecture options for live pro...
07/05/2025
Media Pioneer Publishing AG Expands Editorial Capacity
Brie Clayton May 7, 2025
0 Comments
Pioneer 2 boat production environment powered by Blackmagic...
07/05/2025
LONDON Movie fans hoping to save money by waiting until their favorite new films appear on streaming services will have to wait a bit longer now, according to a...
07/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau is seeking public comment on a Petition for Rulemaking from HC2 Broadcasting Holdings asking...
07/05/2025
WASHINGTON Following a decision by U.S. Department of Education to terminate its 2020-2025 Ready To Learn to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, CPB has in...
07/05/2025
NEW YORK Fox's ad-supported streaming Tubi made a series of product and partnership announcements during IAB NewFronts in New York, including the launch of ...
07/05/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Google Fiber (GFiber) has announced a redesigned app that the company said will simplify how customers set up service, manage devices, and...
07/05/2025
WASHINGTON NASAs on-demand streaming service, NASA+, has launched a FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television) channel on Prime Video....
07/05/2025
NEW YORK The WNET Group, parent company of the PBS station Thirteen, has announced the appointment of Randall T. Decker to senior director, technology, effectiv...
07/05/2025
Atomos announced an executive leadership transition as the Company continues to evolve and expand its strategic focus.
Peter Barber, currently serving as Chie...
07/05/2025
Steve Wagner, Jerry Holway and Robert Orf at the 2024 Scientific and Technical Awards at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
The ...
07/05/2025
nxtedition, the Swedish company behind the leading integrated platform for news and program production, and TASCAM, the iconic Japanese manufacturer of professi...
07/05/2025
Signiant is bringing its Camera-Raw-to-Any-Cloud workflow to the UK for the first time at the Media Production & Technology Show 2025 (Booth# M69) with a live d...
07/05/2025
MNC Software Inc., a global leader in software and network solutions tailored to the broadcast and media industry, has appointed Gencom Technology as an officia...
Indy 500: NBC Sports Is Back in Full Force at The Speedway, Adds Peacock-Exclusive Pre-Race Show 120+ cameras will cover the 107th edition of the iconic race By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
