A New TV Deal (U.S. Fans May Want to Take a Deep Breath First)

[Fish_Flake]

The Indianapolis Star is reporting that the Indy Racing League has reached a new broadcasting deal for 2009, with ABC airing five races and the rest airing on Versus.

For those of you don't know, Versus is Comcast's national sports programming channel, who holds the broadcast rights to the NHL, the Tour de France, the America's Cup, the Davis Cup, Pro Bull Riding rodeo, and many other sporting events I'm forgetting right now. The good news is that Versus' coverage of these sports is typically top-notch, and the report states that Versus' deal will include qualifying, pre- and post-race shows, and other IndyCar-centered programming currently absent in the IRL's current cable partnership with ESPN. The bad news is that unless you subscribe to Comcast cable service (which fortunately, I do), Versus is likely hiding deep in the depth's of your provider's programming lineup, and charges you a premium to access it. In other words, even though the channel will offer much more thorough coverage than ESPN, most people won't get it. With fewer races being aired on ABC next year and without the vertical integration in promotion that ABC and ESPN has, that's not a good sign for potential sponsor involvement. Worst of all, Versus' HD feed is shared with the Golf Channel (another Comcast property), so people hoping to see IndyCar racing in all its glory on their plasma screens may very well turn to Versus HD on race day, only to be greeted with footage of a Senior PGA Tour tournament.

All in all, I'd say the positives of the new TV deal (expanded IndyCar programming on cable) will be outweighed by the negatives(fewer network races, a cable partner that most people don't get and the network partner won't promote). Hopefully, the IRL and it's corporate partners lobby for a better network deal for future seasons.

[mattcat]

...and the IRL shoots itself in the foot once again. Just when the series looked to be on the upswing, they manage to turn it back in the other direction. Are they averse to success? With less people being able to follow the series, interest will wane, and race attendance will decrease. How do they hope to ever compete with NASCAR again if they keep making bonehead moves like this? I get Versus and will watch the races. Do / will others?

[Fish_Flake]

I'm not going to go as far as to say that this is a bad deal. This is nowhere near as bad as the IRL's TV package on Fox Sports Net in the late 1990s, or CART's exclusive contract with Speed Channel in 2002 and Spike TV in 2004 or 2005 (I can't remember which year it was). Since local and regional sports events took preference over FSN's nationally-syndicated programming, the IRL races aired on Fox Sports Net were preempted or bumped entirely by other programs in many markets. Speed Channel provided excellent coverage, but it was available in far fewer households than it (or Versus) is in now. Spike TV was just a nightmare, because no one knew that Spike even offered sports programming.

For all the guff the NHL gets for its TV deal with Versus, its ratings are pretty much the same it was when ESPN2 aired several games a week before the lockout, and attendance at the games has gone way up. The key is going to be how well the IRL, its corporate sponsors, and Versus are going to promote the fact that the IndyCar Series can be seen on a new channel. They can't count on ABC/ESPN's vertical integration letting viewers know which channel the next race is going to be on; it's going to be up to them.

[mountainstar]

Versus just shows how far the sport has fallen since 1995 and that it isn't coming back anytime soon especially under the current management. Some current teams are struggling financially and this will not help.

I'm sure there is going to be some spin on how great this is(indycool where art thou). But with the lame 2009 schedule and no manufacturers stepping in with Honda it aint looking good. Plus you've got dog ugly cars that sound horrible.

Also the funny thing is many pontificated how well financially the ABC/ESPN deal was for the irl and that has turned out not to be the case with the deal worth only $11 million to IMS and the rest losing money.

[Fish_Flake]

The official press release is out. Versus has a 10-year deal, ABC's network contract renewed until 2012. Versus' deal includes a pre-race show, a Saturday preview/qualifying program for every race, a re-air of every race, all Indy Lights races, and "at least 10 hours" of other IndyCar-themed programming.

I've done a bit of research, and Comcast plans to split Versus and the Golf Channel into their own HD feeds by the end of the year, so the "Senior PGA" conflict I alluded to earlier won't be relevant.

Mountainstar, the series isn't where it was before 1995, and there's nothing that's going to instantly change that. What good is it, then, to stay with a broadcast partner (ESPN) that has proven time and time again over the last 12 years that it has no interest in trying to expand the appeal of the series? At least Versus appears to be serious in giving the IRL more exposure through the volume of programming they've signed up to provide. Yes, they are in fewer households than ESPN, but the channel is rapidly gaining viewership regardless, and if Comcast manages to pull off the broadcasting coup they have been attempting to secure for the last few years (say, a major expansion of their rights to air NCAA football and basketball games), it will spark the kind of demand that will get the channel in as many households as ESPN in very short order, which will only help the IndyCar series in the long run. Plus, with DirecTV already on as a sponsor, there exists a means to make a push towards getting IndyCar fans to subscribe to a service that includes Versus.

If ESPN was bringing nothing to the table in TV discussions, then good riddance to them. If it somehow turns out that Fox and Speed Channel were offering the same deal as ABC and Versus, then the IRL might have just made a bad call.

[mountainstar]

Maybe. I had hoped with Spike TV back in 2004 with the additional pre show and consistent airings of champcar racing that it would help and it just made it worse.

Versus is down in the triple digits of channels and the last thing I saw on Versus was BBQ competitions and dudes in a cage beating the snot out of one another.

I guess it's nice they have the additional coverage. But if a tree falls in a forest and no one was there to hear it, did it make a sound? They are going to have to promote it hard to get the eyeballs.

At the end of the day, ABC/ESPN didn't find the irl valuable enough to keep and I saw a statement it was costing them money. Not good.

[JohnSSC]

Can't comment on the nuts and bolts yet but bear in mind that the ESPN deal was a time buy. IF this is not a time buy, that is a good thing. Aside from the NHL, Versus has a long way to go to demonstrate to me that it is a legitimate "sports" channel as opposed to some sort of amalgam of steel cage kicking gouging low-blow punching blood spurting mangling sport channel. The theme seems to be a legitimization of stuff that typically would be illegal if it involved roosters or pit bulls.

The good news here is at least during racing season there will be that many fewer hours of Mangle-Mania on the tube...

[Denosaur]

So what is this going to mean for us fans here in Australia who happen to have ESPN??

I don't know what our cable company here is Australia is going to do since it is moving networks over in the US. Will ESPN Australia continue showing it like it has for the last 10 years??

One thing for sure thou, to hell if we're going to put up with what happened last year with Champcar coverage on free-to-air. It took Craig Gore and his persistence to get one channel to show it!!

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

Can't comment on the nuts and bolts yet but bear in mind that the ESPN deal was a time buy. IF this is not a time buy, that is a good thing. Aside from the NHL, Versus has a long way to go to demonstrate to me that it is a legitimate "sports" channel as opposed to some sort of amalgam of steel cage kicking gouging low-blow punching blood spurting mangling sport channel. The theme seems to be a legitimization of stuff that typically would be illegal if it involved roosters or pit bulls.

The good news here is at least during racing season there will be that many fewer hours of Mangle-Mania on the tube...

Time Buys for the negative connotation they get are not that bad if done right. Most networks operate on time buys. They sell the time slot and the channel doesn't have huge overheads in people trying to sell commercial slots. It's up to the time buyer to sell enough advertising to make a profit or not. For some sports apparently they have done pretty well and have been profitable. If it's a time buy the irl will have to put a lot of effort into finding advertisers and they'll need to promote the fact they are on Versus pretty hard.

Some say Versus is a channel on the way up but it still lacks a lot of households and some have never heard of it. And it's buried down in the late double digits or triple digits on channels.

[Jimmy Magnusson]

As a race fan this is a good thing. I'd rather have a narrower channel do a good job than a major channel do a bad job. I'm sure I will be able to find Versus somewhere. And it will all be on (pretty much) one channel; if there is anything I detest in modern (US) motorsport coverage it's the constant lottery wheel of slotting the race into ABC, ESPN, or whatever comes up. Make it a recurring feature on a single channel! That said, I expect the average joe won't see much of the IRL next year. Not that he has this year, but still.

[indycool]

Versus is owned by Comcast, one of the largest cable operators in the U.S. As I understand the releases, ESPN still will handle the international rights as it has in the past. From what I've read at other forums, several Time Warner towns don't carry it and a few cable companies carry it as a premium channel. The IRL's other deal with DirecTV would make it available to ANYBODY who has that or who goes to that, and it would seem THAT technology is going to be the wave of the future. Some sports business publications (Indianapolis Business Journal, for one) have said the Versus deal is $6 million a year for 10 years. The ABC deal for five races including Indy is supposedly $4 million a year.

[lnin0]

I personally can't stand ESPN. For a sports news network that is on 24x7 they have such a narrow focus.

Versus has always done the Tour de France justice while ESPN has been lucky to mention it for three seconds over the whole of July while it runs. ESPN used to have broadcast rights to the TdF and it got the typical ESPN third rate coverage which by any standards is dreadful.

It has been no different for IndyCar. ESPNs coverage of IndyCar this year has been dreadful. Does it matter how many households they beam that turd of a broadcast into - even fans have a hard time stomaching ESPNs coverage so what new viewers do you really think it is going to nab?

Versus will care - they have to because the don't have the million dollar contracts with the big five American sports. They are trying - they have some NHL, some NCAA some MMA and cycling. Versus will want to build the IndyCar brand because it will be their biggest brand to date and matters to them as much as it does to the IRL.

That means fans will get a good show and if you put on a good show people will find it. You cannot say ESPN gives anybody that now. Aside from their wham bam thank you ma'am 120 minute donation IndyCar is lucky to even get a weekly mention on Sports Center...which is what - seven hours long now?

Ultimately it is going to be the fans that restore American open wheel racing to glory - not a tv contract and defiantly not a tv contract with a network that thinks they are too good for the sport. So tell me again why having IndyCar as a third rate program is a good thing ?

I am not sure how long Comcast has owned Versus but we used to get it with Time Warner so I don't think it is as obscure as many are making it out to be.

[broadrun96]

Actually going to Versus is the best move they could make. A large majority of the cable carriers within the US carry it already and since Comcast is the biggest, it's likely most people will have it. They already do the best HD coverage of the few NCAA games that they have and limit their commercials within the NHL games they carry. They have always always sought to bring in the best commentators they can find and I wouldn't be surprised to see them push SPEED in the negotiations for ALMS races in the near future, if not try to out-right buy the series from SPEED. Yes, it may force people to get digital boxes, but face it, if you don't why bother to have cable anyway?

[protopuma]

Sounds like a good move for IRL, seems that Versus actually want to grow the IRL brand. Also I hope the Austar/Foxtel keep the IRL in Oz, free to air would be a disaster. What is with all the hate of MMA? Great sport and its popularity may help to bring more viewers to the IRL.

[Amar7605]

At least with this Versus deal the IRL should have more airtime to promote and enhance its brand. Also, they do not have to compete with NASCAR on ESPN and SPEED for time slots.

As long as Versus doesn't try to condense the racing coverage into a 2-hour time limit ala Spike with Champ Car, then hopfully things will be fine. Otherwise, if we are going to be shown edited, timed races then who cares what channel the IRL is on. The product will be crap.

[indycool]

According to the release, each race telecast will be at least three hours in length, plenty of time for a pre- and post-race show on Versus. Versus will also have a pre-race advance show the day before the race.

http://www.indycar.com/news/?story_id=12219

[mattcat]

Don't get me wrong, this is a great thing for IRL fans who have access to the Versus network, but will it be a good thing for the series growing itself? I certainly hope so, but have doubts.

[The Snout]

Versus could have a 12 hour pre race show, doesn't mean anyone new is going to turn up to see it. Especially with something like 20 million less available viewers.

You got to wonder if promoters are going to be willing to pay for a IRL race knowing it's going to be aired on a backwater channel in the US.

Maybe the IRL can justify a big sanction fee because a race was going to be on ABC or ESPN, well known stations. But can you justify the same big fee and dump the broadcast off onto the Outdoor Gardenwear channel ?

Major step backwards this. Only the diehards gain anything, certainly not gaining new eyeballs.

[mountainstar]

Looks like Versus paid just under $7 million for the 13 races and about $4 mil for indy and 4 other races. Oh how the mighty have fallen!

Versus may be a network on the up(the spin) but it still lingers way down in the channel listings for many and lacks many, many households compared to ESPN.

It's a backward step.

[Amar7605]

On the other hand, look at NASCAR now. Instead on being on network TV every week they are now and going to be on ESPN/TNT most of the time. So, there you go. They are not as powerful as they once were.

[JohnSSC]

Except that NASCAR has a built-in following that will come with them to ESPN/TNT as opposed to having to stumble across/seek out the IRL on Mangle Vision. Especially since ESPN is on most basic CATV systems.

Sorry, I watch Versus a lot during hockey season and I do enjoy the bull riding - I just cannot stand what they are trying to pass off as sport with the whole human pit bull fighting thing.

[drdisque]

ESPN2 is in 96 Million homes, Versus is in 73 Million homes and growing - the difference between those numbers isn't that significant.

Versus will offer significantly better and more programming.

Versus will promote the sport better.

and there are STILL 5 races all on ABC to expose the sport to the casual fan.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by drdisque

ESPN2 is in 96 Million homes, Versus is in 73 Million homes and growing - the difference between those numbers isn't that significant.

Versus will offer significantly better and more programming.

Versus will promote the sport better.

and there are STILL 5 races all on ABC to expose the sport to the casual fan.

23 million homes isn't a small number.

It's not just about the number of homes either. ESPN is almost 30 years old and long established and known by probably every person in the USA and probably received by every cable tv in the country. What the heck is Versus? It might be in 73 million homes but it's buried down in the deep double digits and triple digits on channels. Spike TV was in over 90 million homes and that didn't help champcar any. Just because a channel is available doesn't mean people watch it.

I don't know how you can make the claim Versus will offer significantly better programming and will promote the sport better? There is nothing yet to suggest it will(with the exception of unknown additional programming) nor have we seen it yet.

[brightline]

I personally like the move. For someone that doesn't usually get to watch the races live and records them on the DVR it a welcome change knowing the race will start on time and likely end in within the time slot. I don't know how many times I've set the DVR for an extra 1/2 hour and still missed the last 5 laps because Golf went ten minutes over time interviewing Tiger Woods' caddies' mother-in-law's next door neighbor.

I really like how much Versus puts behind the NHL coverage. Although many fans still long for the NHL to go back to ESPN would we have seen 4OT games with 6 intermission reports in their entirety? Probably not.

I guess it's not too different than fans wanting to hear Bob Jenkins again. Be careful what you wish for...

[Xpunk75]

Sadly I don't get Versus, but the idea of having it on one constant channel and more coverage and Pre Show sounds amazing. It's like what F1 did with speed and we F1 fans seem to like it just fine.

Hopefully when I move out of my parents house I will get Comcast and be able to watch the series because there is no way in hell my dad is going to switch from Wide Open West and pay more way more for Comcast Cable just to watch the Indycar series.