NBC retains Preakness Stakes broadcast rights following bidding competition
NBC Sports has secured a multi-year renewal of broadcast rights to the Preakness Stakes, fending off competing bids from Fox Sports, Netflix, and Amazon. The network has held Preakness rights since 2001.
NBC Sports has secured a renewal of broadcast rights to the Preakness Stakes, according to Front Office Sports, fending off competing bids from Fox Sports, Netflix, and Amazon. NBC has held Preakness rights since 2001. An announcement was planned for August 6 at 12 p.m. ET with Maryland Governor Wes Moore and other dignitaries.
The renewal comes on the heels of improved viewership in May 2026. The race drew 5.5 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, the largest audience since 2021, according to Front Office Sports. That figure represented a 22 percent increase from 4.9 million viewers in 2025.
However, the deal arrives amid persistent structural headwinds for the second leg of horse racing's Triple Crown. NBC's Preakness audience has not exceeded 7 million viewers since 2021, breaking a streak of more than 20 consecutive years in which the race surpassed that threshold, according to Awful Announcing. Fewer Kentucky Derby winners have chosen to compete in the Preakness in recent years, opting instead for the Belmont Stakes to avoid the tight two-week recovery window between the Derby and Preakness, per Awful Announcing.
Additionally, a newly announced Thoroughbred Championship Series will feature the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes but will exclude the Preakness, according to Awful Announcing. The development signals that the race may be losing standing within professional racing's premier circuit. The Preakness is weighing a scheduling shift, moving its date back by one week from the traditional two-week gap after the Derby, a change that would require the Belmont to also shift to maintain a three-week interval, per Awful Announcing.
NBC also holds Kentucky Derby broadcast rights through 2032, while Fox owns Belmont Stakes rights through 2030, confirmed by Awful Announcing. Churchill Downs Incorporated acquired the Preakness and associated Pimlico races for 85 million dollars in April 2026, per Awful Announcing.
The exact term length of NBC's new Preakness deal has not been disclosed, leaving the long-term stability of the arrangement unresolved.
NBC won the Preakness rights renewal after competition from major media companies, though the exact term length has not been disclosed.
Watch for whether the Preakness moves to a new date and whether more Derby winners opt to run in the Preakness as a result. The race's exclusion from the new Thoroughbred Championship Series and its continued struggle to attract top Derby contenders signal that viewership recovery alone may not address the underlying competitive problems.
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Sources
Also reported by Front Office Sports, Awful Announcing, NBC TV Network, NBC Sports. Independent coverage of the same development, found by search; not this story's sources.
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