TV exposure

[call_me_andrew]

It's a rare thing to get ESPN to discuss racing when a crash isn't involved.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gob3GByfSM&playnext_from=TL&videos=_Bhsq4miyVA&feature=sub

[anthonyvop]

It's a rare thing to get ESPN to discuss racing when a crash isn't involved.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gob3GByfSM&playnext_from=TL&videos=_Bhsq4miyVA&feature=sub
Every year ESPN does pieces and interviews in the week leading up to the Indy 500.
It has been this way since ABC bought ESPN. By Monday evening it will all be forgotten and ESPN will go back to shilling the other sports ABC/ESPN carries.

[Mark in Oshawa]

If ABC didn't have the 500, I suspect Indy might not even make Sportscenter save on Memorial Day..

[call_me_andrew]

I'm sure the IndyCar Series would make Sportscenter every time there's an 8 car crash.

[bblocker68]

Wow, Colin Cowhead is more annoying on the air than he is on radio!

[Mark in Oshawa]

Wow, Colin Cowhead is more annoying on the air than he is on radio!

He is a huge moron trust me..I listened to enough of his crap on ESPNRadio to realize they don't hire based on knowledge of the sport....

[call_me_andrew]

Michelle Beadle carries the show.

[NaBUru38]

If IndyCar got into NBC with help from Versus, how would you like that?

[Jag_Warrior]

If IndyCar got into NBC with help from Versus, how would you like that?

Six in one hand, half a dozen in the other. Whether we're talking about the IRL or CCWS, you constantly see fans who blame the network of choice for the failings of the series. Some IRL fans seem to think that ABC should have put the same marketing efforts behind Indy and the IRL as they put behind the final season of Lost. The difference is, Lost (and other shows that get heavy network promotion), at its lowest point, drew more viewers per week than the IRL does in an entire season. As I watched that final episode of Lost I was amazed at the companies advertising. It was a virtual Who's Who of the Fortune 500.

Until the IRL can find some way to make itself more appealing to fans and viewers (and sponsors!!!), I don't think it really matters which network carries the races.

[Mark in Oshawa]

If IndyCar got into NBC with help from Versus, how would you like that?

I would think it was ok, but I have seen how the NBC carries the NHL, another great sports property that TV doesn't seem to love, and I think it wont make a huge difference.

The problem with the IRL is it has not enough compelling races for the viewer at home to always want to see the next one. Indy is compelling because it is tradition, a spectacle and a unique race that has provided a lot of great stories. Most of the IRL courses are not that, and the whole OW racing world hasn't ever come to terms with aero push, and the ability of the cars to race each other. The races can be dull, whether it be road courses or ovals. What is more, Scott's point is that the American viewer has no one to cheer for is partially true, although I refuse to buy the notion completely that Americans WONT cheer for foreign born drivers. It would help but last I looked the most popular driver in the IRL according to all who will tell me is Danica, and she is as American as apple pie. She also alienates people, so the passport really means not much if the story line isn't compelling.

For the IRL to get back on network TV and get back the audiences they had I think is a real pipe dream. The fact is, ESPN/ABC did more or less back shelf OW racing as the split went on, which didn't help, but the split itself was a factor as well, as well as the just pure entertainment value of NASCAR at times.

NASCAR has done an excellent job of keeping its business in the background and selling the drivers and the stories on track. It is a soap opera that runs every week, and there is always a story that is well told. VS? Well they do their best...but unless NBC really puts a full effort into it, I doubt they can grow the numbers enough to justify a lot more.

The horse has left the barn and we live in a 300 channel universe. Big network ratings I think will never really be back.

[e2mtt]

...
For the IRL to get back on network TV and get back the audiences they had I think is a real pipe dream.
...
The horse has left the barn and we live in a 300 channel universe. Big network ratings I think will never really be back.

Brutal. Probably true. The economics are tough.

[anthonyvop]

Saturday CBS will show the Laguna Seca ALMS. Instead of a normal race broadcast it will shown as a quasi-documentary. It was made by the same people who did the excellent "truth in 24".

It could be the future of racing on TV.