ABC/ESPN and IRL extend TV deal

[rustyfan]

IRL, ABC Sports And ESPN Extend Agreement
By Dave Lewandowski
indyracing.com

INDIANAPOLIS – For Loren Matthews, senior vice president, ABC Sports Programming, a wide-ranging multimedia extension of the agreement between the Indy Racing League, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, ABC Sports and ESPN was a no-brainer.

“To be able to sit here and participate in an announcement that the relationship with the Speedway, ABC and ESPN will continue on for several more years, keeping the ‘Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ on ABC, you only get so many shots. You go for it. This is really terrific.”

The announcement May 27 was made by Tony George, president and CEO of the Indy Racing League and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; Mark Quenzel, senior vice president of programming and production for ESPN; and Matthews.

The agreement, which runs until 2009, includes comprehensive coverage of the IRL IndyCar® Series in addition to the IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series™ races and ancillary programming support along with both network’s extensive coverage of the Indianapolis 500.

“Today’s announcement reaffirms ABC Sports and ESPN’s commitment to IndyCar Series racing,” George said. “ABC Sports and ESPN have played a significant role in the advancement of the Indy Racing League. Their belief in the League via race events and ancillary programming brings the Indy Racing League long-term stability and offers our fans even more programming than ever before.

“I am particularly proud that today’s agreement with ABC Sports extends its coverage of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race into a fifth consecutive decade, one of the longest running relationships between a sports entity and broadcast partner.”

ABC Sports has televised the Indianapolis 500 since 1965, and live since 1986. Indy Racing League events have been on ABC and the ESPN networks since the League debuted in 1996. ESPN has televised Indianapolis 500 qualifying since 1987, and ESPN2 joined the coverage in 1996.

Both ABC Sports and ESPN will work with the League to grow the sport and increase television ratings.

“The Indy Racing League is poised for tremendous growth and we look forward to being a part of that,” said Mark Shapiro, ESPN executive vice president, programming and production. “In addition to having the Indianapolis 500, the IRL is a competitive circuit that continues to add the top drivers and expand their sponsorship base. ESPN and ABC Sports’ media platforms provide an unmatched opportunity to grow the audience.”

The agreement also includes distribution rights for IRL-related programming and content on numerous ESPN outlets, including ESPN Classic, ESPN International and ESPN.com, as well as opportunities involving emerging technologies such as pay-per-view, video-on-demand, interactive TV, broadband, video game development and wireless applications. ESPN will hold rights for high definition distribution on ESPN HD and Spanish-language telecasts on ESPN Deportes.

ESPN International networks retain worldwide rights to televise race coverage to 149 countries and territories. ESPN International will continue as global syndication representative. Current syndication agreements are in place with broadcasters in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, with pan-regional highlights available on Eurosport, the most widely-distributed sports network in Europe.

ESPN and ESPN2 will receive several programming opportunities as part of the agreement, including exclusive coverage of the Menards Infiniti Pro Series and Indy Racing League Banquet, an annual ESPN Original Entertainment special, a Season Preview show and three one-hour Indy Racing League-related specials a year.

This year, ABC Sports is broadcasting 10 of the 16-race IndyCar Series schedule, including the 88th Indianapolis 500 on May 30. ESPN or ESPN2 is televising six races.

“I think it speaks to our commitment, our belief in the Indy Racing League,” Quenzel said. “I think it talks about the stability that we have in the Indy Racing League, will have going forward for the teams and the sponsors and the drivers and everybody associated.

“We have a lot of partners, as I'm sure you know, at ESPN. Bar none, this group, led by Tony, is the most forward-thinking group that I personally deal with. It’s never about today or yesterday or next week; it's always about the long-term future of the League.
“I think that's what this deal speaks to. It speaks to what we're going to do to grow the League, how we're going to market the League, produce the television.”

“From an ESPN perspective, most people say, ‘That's cable television.’ I feel obligated to tell you, if you don't know, it's not. It’s all about dot.com, magazine, radio, all the things that we bring to the table. Obviously, on ABC Sports, as well, to try and hit racing fans and sports fans wherever they live.”

I seem to recall someone being certain ABC/ESPN would drop the IRL when the contract was up. Looks like that particular naysayer was wrong

[Kicking-back]

Do we know how much ABC/ESPN are paying for this?

[Tim Northcutt]

The announcement I saw did not say, but it could be that since it is an extension, that the fees involved have remained the same for an annual basis for these two additional years....

But I don't know that for sure...

[GP Racer]

Originally posted by rustyfan
I seem to recall someone being certain ABC/ESPN would drop the IRL when the contract was up. Looks like that particular naysayer was wrong

Just one person rustyfan?

I seem to remember quite a few doom and gloomers predicting ABC/ESPN would drop the IRL.

I don't want to be to overly optimistic, but there are an awful lot of good things happening to this series lately, and this is just the latest in a string of them to come along. With this major piece of the puzzle in place, this series now has the long term stability needed, to really start growing, and it will.

[marcus]

I get coverage through ESPN International , I certainly hope they lift their game soon.

but good news for Indycar and 5 years or so to build on its foundations and be out there for everyone to see

[sgw2]

The important thing is the IRL will be on Network TV for the next six years. This is fantastic news for teams looking to keep or gain multi-year sponsorship deals.

For the last few years ABC has basically been paying for the Indy 500 and covering the rest of the IRL season for free. ABC/ESPN pay for the production and promote the series, as it is an in-house baby. This differs from CCWS where they have to buy time, pay for production, and work deals on year to year basis. If ABC is merely paying a flat, plus some inflation factor, that is not bad. If the IRL has certain ratings targets that if reached they get more money all the better. Unlike OWRS, IRL shares the TV revenue with the local promoters. This makes holding an IRL race far more attractive.

This is not a gaurantee of success, but it is an important development for OW racing. It is a stable rock upon which to build, and a stable piece in the picture to help teams secure sponsorship. Stability is good.