The IndyCar season will be here in a week when the first practice session for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is held. While the long offseason has a concrete end point, one thing that remains uncertain is when the next television deal for IndyCar will be announced. It is more suspenseful than it should be.
This year marks the tenth year of a combination of ABC holding the exclusive network television rights and Versus/NBC Sports Network holding the exclusive cable television rights. Somehow IndyCar has survived the deal many thought would doom the series. Don't get me wrong, it was not an easy decade and the television ratings did decline to depressingly low numbers, not to forget mentioning the Indianapolis 500 rating continues to nosedive each year despite the fact the typical race is doing marginally better but not at a level worth bragging about.
We talked about IndyCar's future television over a month ago but now it feels dire to find out how and where IndyCar's future will be broadcasted. It seems it is either ABC/ESPN or NBC taking on the series full-time. There will be no sharing. There doesn't appear to be a third-party ready to swoop in and stun us all the way Versus did ten years ago. It is a matter of picking a partner.
My gut bounces between sides.
I think ABC/ESPN is going to win because it has history with IndyCar having broadcasted every Indianapolis 500 since 1964. It has gone through the highs and the lows with IndyCar. It was there at the mountaintop and it didn't abandon it when it fell into the sewer during the CART-IRL war. IndyCar loves its some nostalgia and all ABC/ESPN has to do is mention how it has been a tradition for people to tune into ABC to watch the Indianapolis 500 and generations of fans have listened to Jim McKay, Paul Page, Bob Jenkins and Allen Bestwick call the race. The marriage has gone on this long, why end it now?
On top of that, ABC/ESPN has already announced its own standalone OTT platform and that is something IndyCar is looking for. The series wants a way to connect with people who are not subscribing to cable television packages and live in a streaming world of Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. The good news for IndyCar is it would not have to worry about whether or not people would tune into the OTT coverage if it was on the ABC/ESPN platform because sports fans would be purchasing it while it remains unclear if users of the other three streaming platforms are interested in live sports or only binge television series in the matter of days and movies.
I think NBC is going to win because it has been a great partner to IndyCar especially after it took over and rebranded Versus. The broadcast is the better quality of the two current partners, the announcers are beloved and the fans prefer it over ABC. NBC has given IndyCar attention it has not gotten from ABC/ESPN as it is not uncommon for most qualifying session to be broadcasted when NBCSN is doing a race and some are shown live. Even practice sessions have been shown live on NBCSN.
NBCSN has room for IndyCar. IndyCar would not have to squeeze in between MAAC basketball and a PBA tournament on ESPN2. It wouldn't be bumped for one of the four-dozen opinion shows. If NBCSN has a Friday afternoon open and it is between a IndyCar practice and a fishing show, the practice wins out. If there is an hour between NASCAR sessions, IndyCar practice or qualifying has filled the gap. IndyCar has taken the ABC train as far as it can go. The Indianapolis 500 is at its lowest point. A new network and a fresh perspective in NBC could revive it and get it off the bottom.
I thought the new television deal would have been announced before the start of the season and to be fair there is still a week to kill. There are a few strategies I see when it comes to the timing of the inevitable announcement of the next IndyCar deal.
If ABC gets the deal, it could be announced at St. Petersburg and allow for Allen Bestwick to come on air and say at the start of the season that ABC will be the home of the Indianapolis 500 (and IndyCar but that is second fiddle to the race) until whenever the deal expires.
Or...
If NBC gets the deal it could be announced at Phoenix so NBC can announce it is taking over full-time in 2019 and will show the 103rd Indianapolis 500 in 2019 during its first broadcast of the 2018 season.
Or...
IndyCar makes everyone wait until May when the series has the most attention on it because the Indianapolis 500 will be right around the corner and the announcement will be made that either ABC is staying pat or NBC will bring in a new era.
Or...
IndyCar lets the ABC portion of the schedule play out and NBC is announced sometime during the summer that way the ABC-era is over for good and NBC can move into the open home without having to wait for the ex to remove its belongings.
I have a few more thoughts about IndyCar, television, OTTs and the media landscape in general.
Traditional television isn't going anywhere. People are cutting the cord but people are still watching. The Indianapolis 500 is going to be network television. Say what you want about Nielsen ratings but those are still the numbers that are matter and no one has come up with a better metric for advertisers. IndyCar (and really every entity for that matter) wants an OTT because it is a matter of making the series available to a segment of the population that it otherwise would not be otherwise. The question is if IndyCar does not sign with ABC/ESPN and its planned OTT package then what is its operation should it sign with NBC?
The success of IndyCar streaming practice sessions and qualifying sessions on YouTube, as well as Fernando Alonso's rookie test at Indianapolis, shows the series can do it well on its own but YouTube isn't opening up its wallet. While IndyCar wants a big check, perhaps its OTT future is taking it in house and providing people around the world with an additional option in streaming races through YouTube. The finite details of the package are a matter of debate. Would it mean putting all practice sessions, qualifying sessions and races behind a pay wall or would practice sessions and qualifying sessions remain free while the races would come with a subscription fee for the entire season? How do the Road to Indy series play into this?
Having all the IndyCar races available through subscription makes the most sense if IndyCar takes it in house but I think practice sessions, qualifying sessions and all Road to Indy action should remain free. It allows fans to have a taste and then decide whether or not they want to pony up the money for the races. I think it is important that there is something out there that people do not have to pay for. Putting everything behind a pay wall does not help draw in new fans and only serve those diehards fans wanting you to shut up and take their money. IndyCar doesn't need the money of the diehard fans. It needs an influx of cash from those currently not watching.
If you asked me where do I think IndyCar goes with its next television deal, my answer would be ABC/ESPN because I have been around long enough to see change is never change in IndyCar. As much as we all love NBCSN's coverage and as good as it has been to IndyCar, the ABC-IndyCar marriage appears to be one that will stand the test of time despite being a disastrous relationship for nearly two decades. I think ABC/ESPN's announcement of its own OTT package came at the right time and it is what will keep IndyCar from leaving.
I hope I am wrong.
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