Versus tries buffalo IndyCar and its fans

Most television viewers still might not be familiar with Versus — and DirecTV still does not have the cable channel on its platform due to a contract dispute that has reached an impasse — but Versus president Jamie Davis insists his channel's partnership with the Indy Racing League is strong, worthwhile and growing.

Davis said more people already have watched the IndyCar Series this season (26.7 million) than did last year on ESPN or ESPN2 (25.9 million). Versus has achieved that by tripling the per-event coverage (to seven hours over three shows). [Editor's Note: Who are they kidding? This is just the same eyeballs watching more hours. What value is that to a sponsor. Many people simply don't get Versus nor do they know where to find it. What we want to know is how many unique viewers do they get?]

Officially, Versus' 11 races have averaged a 0.39 rating, which equates to about 400,000 households, the number Davis projected for the first year of this 10-year deal.

"This first season has been a huge success for us," he said Thursday. "I could not be happier with how it's gone.

"The amount of coverage and feedback from critics as well as fans has only been massively complimentary." Indy Star (an extension of the IRL PR staff)