Penske Entertainment, the Roger Penske-owned entity that holds Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar among its assets, said Thursday it has sold one-third interest in the company to FOX.
The sale was described as a strategic investment and partnership designed to launch new growth for IndyCar and it includes a multi-year contract extension for Fox Sports media rights deal with the open-wheel series. Fox Sports is in its first season broadcasting IndyCar.
Penske Entertainment expects the sale of part of the company to spearhead innovative and industry-leading racing and entertainment events, heightened digital strategy and immersive content focus, as well as enhanced promotion and star-building opportunities for IndyCar drivers.
This partnership is built on long-standing trust and a shared vision for the future, Roger Penske said in a statement. Fox sees the incredible potential across our sport and wants to play an active role in building our growth trajectory.
Lachlan Murdoch and his team, starting with Eric Shanks, are committed to our success and will bring incredible energy and innovation to IndyCar.
Shanks is an Indiana native who grew up attending the Indianapolis 500 and has an affinity for IndyCar racing. He desperately wanted to add IndyCar to Fox Sports properties and snagged the TV deal away from NBC Sports ahead of this season.
All races are broadcast on Fox making IndyCar the only series in the United States that does not air any of its events on cable. This years Indianapolis 500 on Fox averaged 7.01 million viewers a 41% increase over last year and a 17-year high.
This season, IndyCar is averaging a 31% increase in viewership year-over-year.
Were thrilled to join the IndyCar ownership group at such a pivotal time for the sport, said Eric Shanks, CEO & Executive Producer, FOX Sports. IndyCar represents everything we value in live sports passionate fans, iconic venues, elite competition and year-round storytelling potential.
This investment underscores our commitment to motorsports and our belief in IndyCars continued growth on and off the track. Were excited to help elevate the sport to new heights across all platforms.
The sale to Fox gives some clarity to the succession plan for Penske, who bought IndyCar and the speedway ahead of the 2020 season. He has long declined to discuss his succession plans although sons Roger Jr. and Greg are involved in the racing entities of the Penske Entertainment.
The sale of a portion of Penske Entertainment creates more seats at its leadership table moving forward, but Penske has remained steadfast in his determination that IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be generational assets for his family.
Penske, who is 88, still runs the day-to-day operations of all of his businesses, which includes racing teams in NASCAR, IndyCar, and IMSA and WEC sports car racing, as well as his billion-dollar transportation empire at Penske Corp.
Penske Automotive also owns multiple car dealerships and Penske is one of the largest BMW dealers in the United States. His race teams, the transportation business and his dealerships are not part of the Fox transaction.
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AP auto racing:
罗杰·潘世奇旗下的潘世奇娱乐公司（Penske Entertainment）周四宣布，已将其公司三分之一股权出售给福克斯（FOX）。该公司资产包括印第安纳波利斯赛车场（Indianapolis Motor Speedway）及印地赛车（IndyCar）系列赛事。
此次交易被定位为战略投资与合作，旨在为印地赛车系列赛（IndyCar）开拓新的增长空间。协议内容包含福克斯体育（Fox Sports）与这项开放式车轮赛车系列签订的多年期媒体版权合约延期。目前福克斯体育正处于转播印地赛车系列赛的首个赛季。
潘世奇娱乐集团（Penske Entertainment）预计，此次出售部分公司业务将推动创新且行业领先的赛车与娱乐赛事、强化数字战略及沉浸式内容布局，同时为印地赛车（IndyCar）车手提供更多推广与造星机会。
罗杰·彭斯克（Roger Penske）在声明中表示："这一合作伙伴关系建立在长期信任与共同未来愿景的基础上。福克斯（Fox）看到了我们这项运动的巨大潜力，并希望积极参与构建我们的增长轨迹。"
拉克兰·默多克及其团队（以埃里克·香克斯为核心）致力于我们的成功，将为印地赛车系列赛注入非凡的活力与创新。
尚克斯是土生土长的印第安纳州人，自幼便常参加印第安纳波利斯500赛事，对印地赛车情有独钟。他迫切希望将印地赛车纳入福克斯体育的版权版图，并在本赛季开始前从NBC体育手中夺得了电视转播权。
所有比赛均通过福克斯电视台转播，这使得印地赛车成为美国唯一未在任何有线电视平台播出赛事的系列赛。今年福克斯转播的印第安纳波利斯500大赛平均收视人数达701万，较去年增长41%，创17年来新高。
本季度，印地赛车系列赛的观众人数同比增长了31%。
福克斯体育首席执行官兼执行制片人埃里克·尚克斯表示："我们非常激动能在印第赛车运动的关键时刻加入其所有权集团。印第赛车体现了我们对现场体育赛事的所有核心追求——狂热的粉丝、标志性的场馆、顶尖的竞技水平以及全年无休的故事叙述潜力。"
这项投资彰显了我们对赛车运动的承诺，也表明我们坚信印地赛车将在赛道内外持续发展。我们期待助力这项运动在全平台迈向新高度。
此次出售给福克斯的交易，使彭斯克（Penske）的继任计划更加明朗。彭斯克曾在2020赛季前收购了印地赛车（IndyCar）及其赛道。尽管他的儿子小罗杰（Roger Jr.）和格雷格（Greg）已参与彭斯克娱乐（Penske Entertainment）的赛车业务，但他长期以来一直拒绝讨论继任计划。
潘世奇娱乐集团（Penske Entertainment）出售部分股权后，其领导层将迎来更多席位。但潘世奇（Penske）始终坚定认为，印地赛车（IndyCar）和印第安纳波利斯赛车场（Indianapolis Motor Speedway）将成为其家族的世代资产。
现年88岁的彭斯克（Penske）仍亲自掌管旗下所有业务的日常运营，包括纳斯卡（NASCAR）、印地赛车（IndyCar）、IMSA和WEC世界耐力锦标赛的赛车队，以及他在彭斯克公司（Penske Corp）价值数十亿美元的运输帝国。
潘世奇汽车公司还拥有多家汽车经销商，且是美国最大的宝马经销商之一。其赛车队、运输业务及经销商网络均不包含在福克斯交易范围内。
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