INDIANAPOLIS – An Indiana lawmaker wants to see an end to the annual local TV blackout preventing many Hoosiers from watching the Indianapolis 500 at home.
State Rep. Ethan Manning, who represents parts of Cass and Miami counties, proposed amendments to House Bill 1001 that would define a media blackout as anything that limits the TV or streaming audience for a motorsport event in Indiana that draws at least 100,000 spectators.
According to previous reports, House Bill 1001 mainly consists of Indiana Gov. Mike Braun’s budget proposal for the state of Indiana. Earlier this month an amended version of House Bill 1001 passed through the House Ways and Means Committee.
Manning’s proposal would tie public money to the blackout. If a race is blacked out between May 15 and June 15, then the Motorsports Commission couldn’t receive state funds.
While the amendments don’t specifically mention the Indianapolis 500, the race is undoubtedly the reason behind the proposal, given the 100,000 fans attendance figure, the May 15 to June 15 timeline and the mention of a blackout.
“So, my contention is that I don’t like taxpayer dollars going to make improvements when we’re adding seats, and if they don’t sell out, they have a media blackout,” Manning said. “All I’m saying is the Motorsports Commission would have to determine that there is no media blackout between May 15 and June 15 each year, and if there’s no blackout, we continue to pay that $7 million.”
Manning didn’t introduce the amendments on Wednesday, but he said his ultimate goal was to get rid of the Indy 500 blackout.
“I’m a man of the people, and the people don’t like the media blackout,” Manning said. “I heard that from constituents and from a lot of people as you talk about the 500. We support the track, I wanna support them. I just want to also support constituents because they’re paying taxes that are going to those improvements.”
Manning said he wanted to make sure everyone had an opportunity to watch the race and believes expanded TV viewership would have a positive impact on the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar as a whole.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has kept the blackout policy in place for years, even as other sports have almost moved away from blackouts entirely.
In general, blackouts were placed on TV broadcasts that didn’t sell out. The thought process was that the threat of a blackout would induce more people to attend a sporting event in person. In the fractured world of media contracts, TV networks and streaming platforms, they’ve largely gone by the wayside.
Officials behind the Indianapolis 500, on the other hand, have stuck with their blackout rule for decades. If the race sells out the grandstands, as it did for the 100th Running in 2016, then the 500 will air live in the Indianapolis market.
The race also dropped the blackout three other times in recent years: 2020 and 2021 (COVID-19 pandemic and associated crowd restrictions) and 2024 (a rain delay).
Without a sellout, the Indianapolis 500 airs in the Indianapolis market on a tape delay in the evening. Many local fans unable to attend the race listen to it on the radio, with some grousing about the race day blackout.
Officials with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway were still reviewing Manning’s proposal. IMS released the following statement:
“Our focus right now is on the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500, which continues to sell tickets at a historic pace. A grandstand sellout is very possible and is our goal, thanks to the fans who continue to make the Indy 500 the largest single-day spectator sporting event in the world. In this case, there will not be a local delay of the broadcast, as there has not been four of the last nine races.
“IMS contributes more than $1 billion in economic impact to Indiana’s economy, the majority of which is driven by the continued success and growth of ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.’ We’re proud to help propel our state forward and appreciate the continued stewardship and partnership of our state’s leaders.”
The 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for May 25.
