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Originally Posted by JacobP
Formula 1 has been losing TV ratings and probably fans recently. I don't know if it's a permanent trend or just a reaction to the snooze-fest that was the 2013 season, concluding four long years of continuous Red Bull and Vettel domination. But if the trend is permanent, I don't think that F1 refugees have IndyCar on their radars right now.
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The reason Formula 1 is losing it's ratings is due to much of it being aired on pay to view. Over here, the BBC who used to show the whole season, now only show half of the races. Sky, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, shows the entire season. If you're a die hard fan, you might not mind shelling out the extra £s to watch the F1 channel. On the other hand you could be a die hard fan and resent having to pay to view, so you'll look for an online feed. As a casual fan that extra cost, on top of your existing Sky package, might be a complete turn off and you'll put up with the BBC.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JacobP
I'd dare to say that Formula E has already leapfrogged IndyCar in popularity. Just look at the drivers and the team managers, and you see who-is-who of the open wheel racing. There are lots of drivers from the European openwheel racing ladder, some with quite a bit of F1 seat time. The tickets sell well, the venues look beautiful, and on-track action has been quite good. How did they get things so right from the get go? What would it take for IndyCar to bring drivers like Alguersuari, Buemi, or Heidfeld into IndyCar seats, as well as some juniors from GP2? Do these Europeans have some anti-American bias, or they think IndyCar is mostly old school racing on the ovals?
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If anyone has any viewing figures comparing IndyCar and FE, that would be interesting.
I think one reason why it seems they've got things right from the get go, is the overall costs, including start up, running the season and the cost to the teams must be considerably less than IndyCar. The cost of the car is €350,000, which is £381500, though I'm not sure if that includes the powertrain, batteries and Renault's system integration, as the
Spark website didn't have that information.
The price of a DW12, is intially $345,000 per chassis but the purchase of aerodynamic packages and I don't mean aero-kits, designed for different circuits, road/street-short oval can add another $150,000-$200,000 the engines are $2m a piece. I got these figures from,
http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com...ar-comparison/ but this was published in May 2013, so I don't know how accurate these figures are but even so, the figures alone suggest the costs in IndyCar are considerably more than FE, which is why IndyCar and F1 resort to hiring pay drivers. I don't know if the Alguersuaris, Buemis, or Heidfelds can bring that sort of money to IndyCar.