FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 23rd, 2019

NBCUNIVERSAL SYMPHONY SURROUNDS 103RD INDIANAPOLIS 500 ON NBC

Consumer Engagement Promotion and Editorial to Air Across NBCUniversal Properties Including TODAY, Nightly News, Golf Channel & More

Three Days Until NBC’s Inaugural Broadcast of the Indy 500 on May 26

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 23, 2019 – With NBC Sports’ first-ever broadcast of the Indy 500 on Sunday, May 26, NBCUniversal is surrounding coverage of the event through its “Symphony” marketing program, which generates massive awareness for important company initiatives by utilizing NBCUniversal’s abundant and diverse broadcast, cable, regional, digital, social, radio and theme park assets.

NBCUniversal programs such as TODAYNBC Nightly News, and Golf Channel’s Morning Drive, among others, are celebrating the 103rd “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” with related promotion and editorial content leading up to Sunday’s big event.
Following is a summary of NBCU’s comprehensive efforts throughout the Month of May and this week leading into Sunday’s Indy 500 on NBC:

  • TODAY Show at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – This morning, the 8-9 a.m. ET hour of TODAY aired live from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Tom Hanks joined Savannah Guthrie to co-host a special edition of TODAY live from IMS. The event celebrated former Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s Hidden Heroes organization, which supports military caregivers. Al Roker and Sheryl Crow, among others, were all included in the live broadcast.
  • Danica Patrick on Weekend TODAY This Saturday, May 25, former INDYCAR driver and NBC Sports’ Indy 500 analyst Danica Patrick will join the TODAY Show live from Indianapolis Motor Speedway to preview NBC’s Sunday coverage of the event.
  • Mario Andretti on NBC Nightly News – This Saturday, May 25, the night before the Indy 500 on NBC, Nightly News will profile 1969 Indy 500 winner Mario Andretti as he looks back at the 50th anniversary of his victory in Indianapolis. The segment will feature interviews by Nightly News correspondent Anne Thompson with both Andretti and lead Indy 500 play-by-play voice Leigh Diffey at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as portions of Drive Like Andretti, NBC Sports’ documentary profiling Andretti’s journey from war refugee and immigrant to racing legend and cultural icon.
  • Indy 500 on Morning Drive – IndyCar and Golf Channel will be shooting and producing content this week with Golf Channel’s personalities being chauffeured in an IndyCar to Colonial Country Club in Dallas, Texas, for the Charles Schwab Challenge on Golf Channel. Morning Drive will air the content on Friday leading up to the event.
  • NBC Celebrities at Indy 500 – Kelly Clarkson (The Voice and The Kelly Clarkson Show) will sing the National Anthem at the Indianapolis 500, Chevel Shepherd (Season 15 Winner of The Voice, on Clarkson’s team) will be singing God Bless America, and Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila (American Ninja Warrior) will serve as the Indy 500 Grand Marshals. Numerous NBCU programs and social accounts will promote these honorary positions.
  • NBC News Channel Interviews – NBC News Channel will collect numerous interviews with Indy 500 drivers and NBC Sports commentators this week leading up to the race to service NBC’s 200-plus affiliates.
  • Mario Andretti & Family on TODAY & The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Ahead of the Indy 500, Mario Andretti, son and current team owner Michael Andretti, and grandson and current IndyCar driver Marco Andretti appeared on TODAY and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to reveal the car that Marco will be driving in this year’s Indy 500 and discuss the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
  • Drive Like Andretti Free Screening – NBC Sports will host a second free screening of Drive Like Andretti at Newfields in Indianapolis this Friday evening, May 24, ahead of the Indy 500 on Sunday. Click here to reserve your free tickets.
  • Josef Newgarden at the Kentucky Derby – This year’s Kentucky Derby featured significant promotional content for the Indy 500, including an interview with INDYCAR driver Josef Newgarden from Churchill Downs with NBC Sports’ motorsports commentators Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rutledge Wood. Click here to watch the segment.
  • Secret Life of Pets 2NBC Sports partnered with film studios Illumination and Universal Pictures to create two separate pieces of custom promotional content tying Secret Life of Pets 2 with the Indy 500, which will run across NBC Sports platforms and be shared on Universal Pictures’ social channels leading up to the event.
  • Bad Actors. Great Drivers. – NBC Sports shot and produced content with INDYCAR drivers comically reciting lines from some of NBCUniversal’s most iconic shows (i.e. NBC’s This Is Us, Chicago Fire, The Office; Bravo’s Real Housewives of New York, Vanderpump Rules; Universal Pictures’ Jaws, Back to the Future; E!’s Keeping Up with the Kardashians; USA’s Chrisley Knows Best). This content will be shared on the different NBCU shows and network social accounts this week leading up to the Indy 500.
  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine Speed Trivia – NBC Sports shot content with Melissa Fumero (Amy Santiago in NBC’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine) in the backseat of an INDYCAR two-seater driven by Mario Andretti. While driving at top speeds, NBC Sports quizzed Fumero with trivia about her show, which will be shared on the NBC & Brooklyn Nine-Nine social accounts leading up to the Indy 500.
  • Comcast XFINITY – NBC Sports partnered with Comcast XFINITY to create a commercial starring Mario Andretti and NBC Sports figure skating commentator and Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski that pushed to Comcast’s xFi internet and the Indy 500.
  • Indy 500 Drivers at Universal Studios Orlando – Various Indy 500 drivers will be at Universal Studios Orlando this week to tour the park, share content on social media, and help amplify this weekend’s big race.
  • NBCU Social Stunt – Shows and networks across NBCUniversal will bombard their respective social media accounts with Indy 500 content on Sunday morning prior to the race.

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The 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 will be the first ever on NBC. Coverage begins on Sunday, May 26, with eight hours of programming: a pre-race show on NBCSN at 9 am ET; pre-race coverage continues at 11 am ET on NBC; race coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC; and a post-race show at 4 pm ET on NBCSN.

Time (ET) Event Network
9 a.m. ET Pre-race NBCSN
11 a.m. ET Pre-race NBC
12:30 p.m. ET Race NBC
4 p.m. ET Post-race NBCSN

For more information on NBC Sports’ comprehensive coverage of the Indy 500, click here.

– NBC SPORTS GROUP –