Fansided

Does the Verizon IndyCar Series need a single TV partner?

By Brittany Frederick

Verizon IndyCar Series driver Ryan Hunter-Reay behind the wheel of the No. 28 Andretti Autosport Honda. Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/Courtesy of IndyCar
Verizon IndyCar Series driver Ryan Hunter-Reay behind the wheel of the No. 28 Andretti Autosport Honda. Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/Courtesy of IndyCar /
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Mark Miles is interested in just one IndyCar TV partner, but is that a step forward or a step back for the future of the league?

With less than two weeks to go before the start of the 2017 IndyCar season, Mark Miles is once again contemplating the league’s TV prospects. Miles appeared on The Marshall Pruett Podcast this week and said he’d be interested in moving forward with just one IndyCar TV partner if the circumstances were right.

Miles said for him to abandon the two-partner deal that IndyCar currently has with ABC and NBC Sports Network, any single arrangement would have to come “with a lot of network coverage.”

But he also conceded that financial gain is “a close second” to the league’s top priority of its TV audience. So if someone cut him the right check, could IndyCar move exclusively to one network? Should it?

The idea of just one IndyCar TV outlet seems great in theory. Fans would have one network they’d know to tune into and one set of commentators (or at least one network’s worth of them) for the entire season.

That’s a logistical improvement over what exists now, where ABC has broadcast rights to next week’s season opener at St. Petersburg, the two Indianapolis races in May, and the Dual in Detroit in June while NBCSN retains the bulk of the schedule.

It would also eliminate some complaints from fans who haven’t been happy with ABC’s on-air team of Eddie Cheever and Scott Goodyear. Cheever and Goodyear spent an inordinate amount of time during last year’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg hyping the Indianapolis 500 to the detriment of their coverage.

NBCSN has developed a superior broadcast team with Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy in their booth. The network also knows what it’s doing when it comes to motorsports as NBCSN also deals in NASCAR, Formula One and Red Bull Global Rallycross.

But it’s not so easy as just signing up with NBCSN.

For all its positives, NBCSN is a cable network that means it’s not as accessible to IndyCar TV viewers as a broadcast (and free) channel such as ABC.

The only way Miles would get the network coverage he wants is if a deal could be struck to air races on NBC, and per his comments to Pruitt, it would have to be more than six of them — which equates to roughly a third of the current IndyCar schedule.

And because of NBC Sports’ other rights packages for the three other leagues that would more than likely require some schedule maneuvering as well as talent maneuvering.

Diffey is also a broadcaster for the network’s Formula One coverage and Bell has been used to help call Red Bull Global Rallycross.

Which league prevails if there’s a schedule overlap? The good news is that there are only two dates on which IndyCar and NASCAR both run on the 2017 IndyCar TV schedule, but there’s no assurance that will always be the case.

And as quality as the racing has been in IndyCar, it’s NASCAR that still has the larger fan base which would presumably take priority. To say nothing of F1 and GRC that also deserve the same respect as IndyCar.

So as much as Mark Miles might love the thought of having one IndyCar TV partner when the current contracts expire next year, the more feasible option is to maintain the status quo and divide and conquer.

ABC provides the broadcast coverage that Miles is so bullish on while NBCSN does the heavy lifting and has established a quality home for the majority of the season. The worst thing IndyCar could do is sacrifice quality for the lure of broadcast appeal or broadcast money.

If IndyCar wants to elevate its TV product it would do well to find consistent non-race coverage to support the on-track product. The IndyCar Chronicles series has been great entertainment but it has never had a consistent schedule or even a ton of advertising. Why not put more effort behind that or other projects? There are more ways to expand IndyCar’s TV presence than just with what channel it’s on.

Next: Cabot Bigham joins Red Bull Global Rallycross Supercars

We’ll have to wait until 2018 to find out what the future holds for IndyCar on television. But going to one broadcast partner shouldn’t be part of it because everything Mark Miles wants and all that the sport needs isn’t in one place yet.