IndyCar TV ratings up, helped by extra ABC race
The Izod IndyCar Series is averaging 2.3 million viewers through five races across ABC and Versus, up 28% from 1.8 million viewers through the same point last year (six races – much of the increase is attributable to one more race on ABC and one less on Versus). The series saw its signature Indianapolis 500 telecast average 6.5 million viewers this year, up 12% from last year's record-low 5.8 million viewers. Last Saturday's Firestone Twin 275s from Texas Motor Speedway averaged 525,000 viewers on Versus, making it the net's most-viewed IndyCar telecast since it began airing IndyCar races prior to the '09 season. During the '08 season, the last year that ESPN/ESPN2 aired IndyCar races, only one telecast finished with fewer than 525,000 viewers, an 11:00am ET replay of the Indy Japan 300 that had already aired live the night before.
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'11 IZOD INDYCAR SERIES
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DATE
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RACE
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NET
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START (ET)
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VIEWERS (000)
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3/27
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Honda GP of St. Petersburg
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ABC
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12:30pm
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1,840
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4/10
|
Honda Indy GP of Alabama
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Versus
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3:36pm
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304
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4/17
|
Toyota GP of Long Beach
|
Versus
|
4:13pm
|
323
|
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5/2
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Sao Paolo Indy 300*
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Versus
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n/a
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n/a
|
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5/29
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Indianapolis 500
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ABC
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12:04pm
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6,711
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6/11
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Firestone Twin 275s (Texas)
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Versus
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8:52pm
|
525
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NOTE: * = Race excluded from '11 figures after rain out on Sunday. Race was run on the following Monday on Versus.
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'10 IZOD INDYCAR SERIES
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DATE
|
RACE
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NET
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START (ET)
|
VIEWERS (000)
|
|
3/14
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Sao Paulo Indy 300
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Versus
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11:54am
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411
|
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3/28
|
Honda GP of St. Petersburg^
|
ABC
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n/a
|
n/a
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4/11
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Indy GP of Alabama
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Versus
|
3:49pm
|
310
|
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4/18
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Toyota GP of Long Beach
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Versus
|
4:21pm
|
490
|
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5/1
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Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 (Kansas)
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ABC
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1:30pm
|
969
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5/30
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Indianapolis 500
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ABC
|
1:00pm
|
5,793
|
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6/5
|
Firestone 550k (Texas)
|
Versus
|
8:04pm
|
518
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NOTE: ^ = Race excluded from '10 figures after rain out on schedule Sunday. Race aired the following Monday on ESPN2. Source: Sports Business Journal