The IRL officially announced its new television deals yesterday, which give the league stability on cable well into the next decade.
Versus will pay $6.7 million dollars per year to televise IRL races for the next ten years, with the contract calling for at least 13 races per season, expanded broadcast windows, an hour-long preview show on the day before each race, and multiple hours of programming each year focusing drivers and tracks. Versus will also have an “advertising campaign that network officials called ‘robust.’“
ESPN/ABC will pay $4.2 million dollars for its portion of the deal, which calls for five races, including the Indianapolis 500, to air on ABC through 2012. Combined, the IRL reap just over $10 million in rights fees, around the same level the league receives from ESPN/ABC currently.
While IRL is going down the NHL route — league officials “looked at the NHL deal as a model” — IRL CEO Tony George “isn’t worried about the Indy Racing League losing coverage” on SportsCenter as a result of leaving ESPN. Unlike the NHL, which saw reduced coverage on ESPN programs after it left the network in 2005, the IRL still has ties to the network thanks to the ABC portion of the deal.
Washington Times quote found via The Sports Business Daily.
