In 2008, the IRL ended a bitter war and gave up some prime television exposure.
For over a decade, the IRL and Champ Car waged what amounted to a civil war, after the former split from what was then known as CART in 1996. The two series suffered during their separation, as ratings for the Indianapolis 500 tanked, and Champ Car could never truly get any traction.
In February, the two now diminished racing series agreed to merge. Champ Car drivers joined the IRL, and select Champ Car races were added to the 2008 IRL schedule.
Ratings increased for the now unified open-wheel racing series, with the Indianapolis 500 seeing a 7% bump in ratings from the rain-soaked 2007 race, and viewership on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 up 18% through mid-July. But even though ratings were up, television networks were not barking at the IRL’s door for the next round of television rights.
Even though ESPN still had IRL rights through 2009, the network gave the IRL “the green light to shop them.” ESPN/ABC and FOX were said to only be interested in airing the Indy 500, and neither was willing to pay the IRL the $10 million in rights fees it was getting during the then-current contract. In order to keep a presence on television and increase rights fees, the IRL had to head off into the relative wilderness.
In August, the IRL announced a new set of television deals: a three year deal with ABC that would keep the Indianapolis 500 and four other races on broadcast, and a ten year deal with Versus for at least thirteen races per season. The deals would bring in approximately $10.9 million in rights fees per year — $6.7 million from Versus, and $4.2 million from ABC.
Though the move worked from a business standpoint, the move to Versus was far from a symbol of prosperity. While ratings for NHL and college football games on the network continue to improve, Versus is still a considerable step down from ESPN — and a move from ESPN to Versus is a good indicator that a league is headed in the wrong direction.
On the plus side, Versus will give the IRL much more airtime than ESPN has in the past. And, the IRL will still have a major presence on the ESPN family of networks, as ABC has the rights to the Indy 500 and four other races. But as Dave Kallmann wrote in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, “[It’s] hard to see how a post-unification series with potential to grow can benefit from moving from the go-to source for most sports fans (ESPN/ESPN2) to the smaller, younger home of bull riding, cycling, cage-fighting and (gasp) the [NHL] that’s further down the dial.”
The economic crisis also had an impact on the IRL in 2008. Automakers such as Audi and Honda pulled out of other racing series, making it possible that the IRL could see the same fate. In particular, Honda pulled out of Formula 1, “[showing] that it is serious about trimming the fat.” In late December, the 2009 Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix was cancelled, leaving the state of Michigan “without an open-wheel race for the first time in four decades.”
Finally, the IRL faced another problem this year: one of the most prominent stars in the sport, Helio Castroneves, was charged with tax evasion with a trial set for March of 2009.
In 2009, the IRL faces a brave new world: the first full year as a unified entity with its former open wheel rival, and its first year on a network that still has not found mainstream footing. The economic crisis will also figure to have a major impact on the sport.
