What to expect IRL ratings to be on Versus

The Versus 2007/2008 0.3 TV rating for the National Hockey League (NHL) is 50 percent higher than the 0.2 average at the same time last season. In that period, viewership swelled to an average of 261,760 a game from an average of 195,666 a game last season, which of course is dismal.

During the 2006/2007 season, Versus’s N.H.L. rating stayed flat at a 0.2, but because of the overall growth of subscribers, viewership rose 31 percent to 212,366.

If the NHL's rating hovers between 0.2 and 0.3, one can expect IndyCar's ratings to hover between 0.1 and 0.2.

So why did the IRL go with Versus? When in doubt, follow the money. Versus is paying the IRL $6.7 million per year for its 13 races and ABC/ESPN is reported to be paying the IRL $4.2 million for its 5 races for a total of $10.9 million in total revenue. However, rumor has it that the $6.7M Versus is paying is the exact amount the IRL must pay ESPN to produce the 13 Versus races, so in effect, the TV revenue is just $4.2M per year.

Of course if the IRL had to pay ESPN a reported $1M per race for 13 races to keep IndyCar on ESPN, the breakeven number starts to look much better. But who is going to distribute the IndyCar races all over the world like ESPN International used to do for IndyCar, and what is the value of that?

Versus is paying the NHL $72.5 million per year for ratings of between 0.2 and 0.3. If they are willing to only pay the IRL a paltry $6.7 million, perhaps they expect the IRL TV ratings to be 1/10th of what they get for NHL.

Would the last one out please turn off the lights?