The sad story of IndyCar TV Ratings

UPDATE #5 Just when you thought the news couldn't get any worse for the IRL and their Versus TV deal, it did. Versus' distribution dropped by about 9 million homes December 1 when a free preview period with Dish Network, Time Warner Cable and Cox ended. Versus execs say they are negotiating with those distributors about getting moved back to the well-distributed tiers and are confident a deal can be worked out. "These free previews were a great opportunity to give millions of additional customers exposure to Versus' premiere programming, and we're currently in conversations with these TV providers to finalize a more permanent increased level of distribution for the network," Versus said in an e-mail.

10/31/09 With the championship on the line between three drivers the season finale IndyCar race at Homestead-Miami Oct. 10 scored just a 0.15 national rating on Versus, meaning 171,000 TV households tuned in nationwide, according to New York-based Nielsen Media Research. In Indianapolis, where IndyCar races usually get good ratings, the Oct. 10th race garnered a 0.23 rating, meaning just 3,000 TV households in central Indiana tuned in, according to Nielsen.

We updated our table below comparing Versus in 2009 and ESPN in 2008. The IRL's big season finale saw ratings drop a whopping 81%. Conclusion – the Versus TV deal the IRL signed made the series essentially invisible. Someone should be fired for such stupidity.

Take that all you Chicken Littles out there. This is Big Bird speaking and I tell ya' this Versus deal is a winner!

10/19/09 The IRL saw big declines in viewership during its first season on Versus. Versus averaged a mere 315,000 viewers for its 12 races, down 60% from 778,000 for 11 races on ESPN/ESPN2 last year. To put that in perspective, the least viewed IRL telecast last season drew 377,000 viewers.

Bruce Martin wrote a story this past weekend on Versus.com that the sky wasn't falling for the IRL (what would you expect a Versus.com article to say?) so don't mind all those Chicken Littles out there. Well the sky may not be falling but the bottom sure as heck is falling out and the ship is taking on water…..fast.

09/25/09 Just when you thought IndyCar TV Ratings could not get any worse, recent IndyCar TV Ratings

• Infineon Raceway: Versus 0.25 (281,000 USA Households)
• Chicagoland: Versus 0.24 (271,000 USA Households)
• Motegi, Japan: Versus 0.14 (165,000 US Households

And to think that Versus had the gall to put out a PR puff piece recently through the Indy Star stating how they are growing IndyCar TV ratings. See the revised table below for the season tally to-date with just one race to go.

09/09/09 A reader writes, Dear AR1.com, As bad as the data looks in your table, it breaks down even worse:
Overall = Down 42%
Versus compared to last years broadcast venue = Down 52%
But the most revealing to me is that year-to-year on ABC they are down 20%

It almost leads one to surmise that people don't want to view the product no matter what channel it is broadcast on. A shame, as they put on a pretty good show, considering the ox carts they are forced to drive. Bob in FL

Dear Bob, We are convinced the IRL management does not understand the ramifications of switching from a network like ESPN (with all it's news and broadcast outlets) to a channel like Versus that has zero international distribution and, because it's owned by Comcast, is never going to be liked by Dish, DIRECTV, Cablevision, Time Warner, and all the other competitors to Comcast. DirecTV has dropped Versus and although the others still offer it, they put it in with some obscure premium package that costs extra money, which is where it will stay, and where only a few will watch it. If the IRL's goal was to make IndyCar invisible, they are succeeding. It makes for a case study on how to be pennywise and pound foolish. Mark C.

09/08/09 This was supposed to be a breakout year for the IRL. After merging with Champ Car in 2008, 2009 was the first full year of the merged series and things were supposed to be running on all 8-cyclinders. That was until the IRL signed their new TV deal. We saw Champ Car make the same idiotic mistake with Spike.

IndyCar's commercial boss, Terry Angstadt says that IndyCar's TV ratings are just where they expected them to be. Really? Below is what the great Versus TV deal is delivering for the league. We'll let you be the judge on just how good or bad it is. With Versus now off DirecTV, the ratings can only go one way, and it isn't up.

2009 vs. 2008 IndyCar TV Ratings