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IndyCar Deals Itself a Terrible Blow
I had really hoped that this afternoon's announcement would reveal a title sponsor. Instead, its just about the worst possible news we could receive.
This is per Curt Cavin this morning.
ABC, Versus to share IndyCar series TV coverage
This kills any chance for building momentum in 2009. Who watches Versus? I'm a total sports nut and even I don't watch Versus!!
The IndyCar Series will return to ABC-TV for five races in 2009, including the Indianapolis 500, but the rest of the races will move from ESPN and ESPN2 to Versus, series and television officials confirmed Wednesday.
This is per Curt Cavin this morning.
ABC, Versus to share IndyCar series TV coverage
This kills any chance for building momentum in 2009. Who watches Versus? I'm a total sports nut and even I don't watch Versus!!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by BryanS on -
We have a hungry Network that wants the IRL and is promising to make it a cornerstone. We have expanded pre-race and post-race coverage. We have more coverage during the week. We know where the races will be shown each week and if we fear weather delays, can just set the TIVO or . . . to record longer, not have to guess if it will be moved to ESPN Classic (which many people do not get). Change is hard, but this looks good to me and we are getting a lot of the things people have been asking for.
24 hours ago everyone had TK at TCGR, it is way too soon to declare the deal a disaster or a stroke of genius.
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Permalink Reply by Dexter on -
I honestly believe that the doom and gloom merchants are wrong. I absolutely understand their concerns but I believe it is a good thing for the following reasons:
Look what the have done for Hockey. The NHL went to Versus after the lockout when the sport had reached it's lowest ebb in the eyes of the public. The average rating for the NHL (regular season games) on ESPN2 was a .23. The average for the same regular season games on Versus has increased to a .3. The NHL and Versus are so happy with their deal that they have extended the deal to 2012. Hockey has also helped the channel grow its subsciber base by 10 million in the last three years. They got an excellent 1.7 rating for one of their play off games last season.
Signing for 10 years is precisely whet the league needs. It will have a partner who will grow the sport with the long term in mind and will be in a position to really capitalise when the regulations change in 2011. Having a single 'go to' channel for the sport is great news. Versus will treat the rights in the manner to which they deserve. That means a regular time slot creating a 'destination' channel and broadcast time every week. A three hour show with extended pre and post game coverage. There will be no danger of being bumped or delayed because of women's golf or Nationwide Series NASCAR as has happened this season.
Comcast own the Channel and not only will they cross promote their coverage heavily across the Versus Network their sister channels but they will also build a solid ATL campiagn across a number of other media just like they have done with the NHL.
Having 5 key races on ABC (I would guess that Long Beach will join Indy in that group, not sure what the others will be, Texas maybe?) will ensure that the series continues to get coverage across the ABC family of networks (Sportscentre, espn.com etc.).
Versus is fast gaining a reputation as a serious sports network, last year they had the top ranked teams in college football being upset live on their channel in consecutive weeks!
Do not underestimate what this deal will do for the sport in the longer term. The ratings are very poor now and in year one, they may well drop a little bit, but this will be the start of something much bigger in the long term.
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Permalink Reply by joey kowailw on -
i feel it could be a good move but time will tell. i know we may think idiots run the irl but there may be a light at the end of the tunnel.
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Permalink Reply by B-Dawg on -
I hope you're right. My goal wasn't to spread gloom and doom, and my opinion has improved the more I've thought about it... My concerns were and still are based on the availability of the network to casual fans who might not go out of their way to find an IndyCar race on TV. Hopefully as the profile of Versus gets higher, it'll be more readily available with cable and satellite providers. Like I said, I never really heard of Versus before Thursday morning.
And I am all for what they plan to do with the expanded coverage. That was one of the things I ran in the ground on Talksmack last year. The SPEED Channel has hours and hours of mindless NASCAR crap every week; if a network is willing to give the IRL coverage other than during two-hour broadcast windows for the races, that's a good thing.
We all know that ABC and ESPN have given the IRL and its fans the red-headed step-child treatment, especially since they got back with NASCAR last year. ANYTHING would be better than what we got with races like Texas and Mid-Ohio the past two years. ABC has been associated with the Indy 500 since the year one, but to them the rest of the races are more or less time-filler.
Again, let's hope the sponsors and fans will stick with it through the transition period. And once again, I WANT my concerns to be unfounded...
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Permalink Reply by Leise on -
THIS IS TOTALLY THE DUMPEST THING I HAVE EVER HEARD! I GUESS THEY DON'T WANT FANS ANY LONGER. GUESS I'LL CANCEL MY TIX TO IRL RACING EVENTS.
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Permalink Reply by Ken Cleaver on -
ABC / ESPN has the worst coverage of racing anywhere. They have 90 minutes of commercials and 30 minutes of racing. There side-by-side is pure junk. They are always missing the high-points of every race. One exciting point of the race is right after the checkered flag waves and they always immediately go to a commercial. I like to see all the hoop-la and celebration from the driver, crew and fans. Any station has to be beter than what we've got. I'll give VS a chance until they start broadcasting races like ESPN.
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Permalink Reply by Kelsey on -
As a college student, I'm screwed with Versus because my college surely isn't going to upgrade their cable so that a few students in Indianapolis can watch the IndyCar Series in their rooms. I prefer to watch the races on tv than online but oh well.
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Permalink Reply by B-Dawg on
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Hopefully this availability thing is just a temporary thing, and as the network grows, it will be included in more and more packages... I'm not exactly pleased with the thought of having to pay $54.95 a month for a bunch of channels I'll never watch, but a lot of times I watch the races while I'm working, and can't take the laptop in the shop, so there's not much choice. This situation is not ideal by any stretch, but hopefully it will lead to great things in the long run.
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Permalink Reply by juicy sushi on -
i think it's a gamble, but at the same time, i think indycar's back is against the wall on this one, and they didn't really have another choice. tv is slowly dying at the same time however, and i'm not sure how easy it will be for indycar to establish itself in the media soup which will follow...
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Permalink Reply by KoHoSo on -
In the short term, this is a very, very bad move. Versus could provide the greatest racing coverage ever seen and it still won't matter. As I have said here before, Versus is a total joke as far as the average American sports fan is concerned. It's the channel that carries all of the sports, leagues, and college teams that generally can't get on a "real" channel. TG would have been better off doing time buys on CBS, NBC, or Fox proper for the next five years or so rather than give the media and the public yet another reason to think that IndyCar racing is for nothing but Hoosiers, racing nerds, old people, and NASCAR-haters.
I can only hope that, somehow, near the end of this ten year ball and chain, that something happens to make Versus a more accessible and acceptable destination for the general viewing public. However, right now, I just feel awful and honestly believe that this deal has doomed the ICS to another decade of being nothing but a joke outside of places like this forum. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think that I am.
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Permalink Reply by KoHoSo on
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ATB73, I respectfully disagree on the latter part of that as it relates to ESPN. Yes, Disney paid a butt-load to get their portion of the NASCAR contract. However, I don't believe that it would hurt them too terribly if NASCAR went south on them...no pun intended. ;-) ESPN is so much about MLB, NFL, NBA, and NCAA football and basketball that I think most people there would be relieved to be rid of the "inconvenience" of covering motor sports (including just mentioning ICS, F1, and NHRA in addition to NASCAR on SportsCenter) even if it did cause a financial "burp."
Also remember that some of us enjoy NASCAR even though it desperately needs improvements and, most importantly, to get off its high horse before it does truly hurt itself and all of racing in North America. I am of the opinion that NASCAR going down the toilet would be almost as bad for the ICS as it would be for stock cars...at least not until the ICS or some other series becomes much more popular and stable. Like it or not, NASCAR is racing to the overwhelming majority of the public right now. If they crap out while ICS is still trying to recover from "The Split," it will only make things that much harder.
JMHO on that...sure hope the info you're getting about a title sponsor is right...I am of the opinion that R.J. Reynolds deserves more of the credit for the growth of NASCAR than the France family does, so I believe a good partner in that area with deep pockets is very important.
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