This weekend’s qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 will be carried on Versus, as will most of the IZOD IndyCar Series races this season. That doesn’t seem to be sitting well with Penske Racing president Tim Cindric.
In today’s Indianapolis Business Journal, Cindric tells writer Anthony Schoettle that the current TV contract for the series needs to change by going in with a network that has “a larger viewing audience.” Versus is slated to broadcast 12 of the 17 races on this year’s schedule, and while the Comcast-owned sports network has continued to gain viewership with other properties such as the National Hockey League, the IndyCars still find themselves on a channel that’s in the middle of growing its stature.
However, IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard appears pleased with the plans that Versus has for his series (even though he isn’t happy with the low ratings on TV). The series and the network are in the second year of a 10-year deal.
There’s no doubt that the league needs a stronger television package to sell to sponsors that want a good return on any potential investment. As confident as Bernard seems to be in Versus, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been holding multiple talks with ESPN about getting more IndyCar races on the ABC network. That, plus more frequent promotion on the ESPN family of networks, could get the series into and above the 1.0 mark — the last event at Kansas Speedway netted a 0.8 rating on ABC.
