ABC Starts its Long-Running Relationship with the Indy 500
On this day in 1965, ABC presented its first broadcast of the Indianapolis 500.
The broadcast, anchored by Charlie Brockman, was part of the network's Saturday Wide World of Sports telecast. The tape-delay coverage of the 49th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes, which took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was taped six days earlier, on Monday, May 31. Jim Clark was the 1965 winner.
Tape-delay broadcasts were used through 1985. Live "flag-to-flag" broadcasts were introduced in 1986. In 2011, ABC and Indy 500 reps inked a deal to keep the race on ABC through 2018.