{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Business of Speed Podcast","title":"IndyCar’s 3.3 Million Viewers and F1’s Apple Math","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/4fb24979\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":6618,"description":"Show Notes\nIn the first live edition of Business of Speed, Vincenzo Landino and Lali Michelsen follow the money behind a busy week in racing.\nIndyCar’s Freedom 250 averaged 3.282 million viewers on FOX, its largest audience outside the Indianapolis 500 since before the 2008 unification. The broadcast peaked at 3.482 million, while IndyCar’s season average through 15 races is up 32 percent from 2025. The result provides series-long proof that national promotion, accessible broadcast distribution, and a well-produced event can pull casual viewers into the product. INDYCAR confirmed the full audience figures.\nThe conversation moves to Formula 1’s first season on Apple TV. Early third-party estimates show steep audience declines, though the measurement cannot capture Apple’s full strategy across Apple TV, News, Maps, Music, Fitness+, and its hardware. Apple wants subscribers, repeat usage, and a deeper relationship with F1 fans. Formula 1 must still determine whether that system can introduce the sport to Americans who would never buy a racing subscription.\nVincenzo and Lali also discuss Formula E’s move to Disney+, the growing subscription burden on fans, and the role live sports play in keeping streaming customers from canceling.\nElsewhere, they examine the federal investigation surrounding insurers connected to Mark Walter, TWG’s exposure across five racing properties, Graeme Lowdon’s abrupt departure from Cadillac F1, and Dan Towriss’s decision to appoint Marcin Budkowski during the team’s first season.\nThe episode closes with the economics that keep racing accessible. Sponsors fund far more than logos. They pay for networks, emergency communications, hospitality, staffing, and the infrastructure needed to stage a modern race. The T-Mobile operation behind the Las Vegas Grand Prix shows how much sits beneath the visible product.\nHighlights\nWhy Markham’s opening problems should not obscure the race’s strong fan access, transit links, paddock experience, and...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/fyEekiZGYjoBNuiS3qH3tFSSQTfxx34Wohu5cRUK2d0/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS84MDVh/NjZkMWNiNTNhYzIz/YzE2MWYzNDQ0ZWUz/MWVhZC5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}