Scary Take on TV
Over at SBJ, there’s an article on the potential of a TV deal for the future, or the lack there of. ESPN has been reportedly railed, and I’ve generally defended them. This, however, scares me as Versus is a terrible idea, and this article makes it seem like there’s no interest beyond the 500. I can understand not getting $10mil a year, but a deal has to include every race. As a setback, losing TV would be bigger than anything. This article scares me.
July 28th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Versus = good by to all open wheel racing on TV in the USA!
Unless you have a premium sports pack on Digital Cable/Sat you won’t get Vs. in the northeast; home to a few million race fans.
TG can not really be this stupid….can he??
July 28th, 2008 at 10:04 am
as bad as ESPN/ABC is, TG better make whatever deal they want and hope things improve in the future. versus is not even an option.
July 28th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Let the emailing begin.
July 28th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Yeah, this is a scary proposition. It’s pretty frustrating knowing the IndyCar really is so much better than NAPCAR. Right now, IndyCar just needs to get another 2-3 year deal to have all races on ABC/ESPN and then see how the ratings change (after some time has gone by and hopefully positive growth achieved).
July 28th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Geez, SPEED would be better that Vs (in part because I get the former but not the latter). ESPN’s position could be a bargaining move. They SAY they’re not interested in the whole deal, but that means little right now. TV is where the cash is — ratings drive basically everything, IMO. Ratings bring sponsors, period. So, yeah, this is incredibly import stuff.
July 28th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
of course versus is a horrible idea, i cant even find a sports bar around me that has versus. and most people never heard of it
July 28th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
I’ve never watched Versus in my life. Something about this article smells though. More than likely just posturing by ESPN. They’ve been waiting for unification to pay off for them and now that it has I’d be shocked if they let the series go.
July 28th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Wait, this might me the way for my wife to let us move (to an area that Vs. on cable since our doesn’t) Thanks TG!!!
July 28th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
As much as I dislike ESPN, I still think it’s better than Versus. Better the devil you know;)