DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – IMSA and NBC Sports have unveiled the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship broadcast schedule.
It includes nine hours of NBC network coverage as part of 59 hours across NBC, NBCSN and CNBC, highlighted by NBC’s live network coverage that will bookend the season.
Coverage on NBC begins Saturday, Jan. 25, at 1:30 p.m. ET with the first hour of the 58th Rolex 24 At Daytona, followed by a two-hour live telecast of the race finish on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 12 p.m. ET on NBC.
NBC also will show the second-to-last round of the season live from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 3 p.m. ET, as well as the first three hours of the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 10.
“NBC Sports delivered on their promise to showcase IMSA and the WeatherTech Championship in unique ways during our first year as partners in 2019,” said IMSA CEO Ed Bennett. “Our increased viewership numbers reflected that commitment, and we are looking forward to continuing the unprecedented momentum our sport is experiencing in 2020 across the NBC platforms.”
NBC Sports and IMSA saw significant viewership gains in the first season of their partnership in 2019, delivering a 55% increase in viewership across all NBC networks vs. 2018.
NBCSN once again has the lion’s share of WeatherTech Championship programming with a 44.5 hours in 2020. It includes 13.5 hours of live Rolex 24 coverage and complete live telecasts of four events: Long Beach on Saturday, April 18 at 5 p.m. ET; Mid-Ohio on Sunday, May 3 at 2 p.m. ET; Detroit on Saturday, May 30 at 12:30 p.m. ET; and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday, July 5 at 12 p.m. ET.
CNBC has a pair of live telecasts starting with the first two and a half hours of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts on Saturday, March 21 at 10:30 a.m. NBCSN will feature three and a half hours of coverage of that race, including the dramatic last two hours from the iconic circuit. The Aug. 2 race from Road America will also air on CNBC at 2 p.m. ET.
The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday, June 28; the Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park on Saturday, July 18 and the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 23 all will have same-day coverage on NBCSN.
As was the case in 2019, 2020 WeatherTech Championship race coverage on NBC and NBCSN will stream on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. In addition, TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold – NASCAR and NBC Sports’ new motorsports live streaming product – will have live coverage of every single lap during the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech Championship season.