More evidence Versus taking IndyCar into oblivion

When the Versus deal was announced by IndyCar AutoRacing1.com was a harsh critic, predicting it would make the series largely invisible with its miniscule TV ratings. We remain the deals harshest critic and the latest evidence published by Sports Business Journal.

While ESPN's ratings have gone up from 2009 to 2010, both total and primetime only, Versus has plunged. Ditto for SPEED. Given these numbers, ALMS was smart to move from SPEED to ESPN and its family of networks. Meanwhile the Versus albatross remains firmly affixed around IndyCar's neck.

TOTAL-DAY VIEWERSHIP

NETWORK '10 (000) '09 (000) '08 (000) '07 (000)
ESPN 1,083 1,004 937 869
ESPN2 337 334 325 330
Speed 138 160 150 129
NFL Network 114 97 80 82
Versus 98 120 107 89
Golf Channel 71 88 77 76
ESPNews 64 64 66 70
NBA TV^ 51 n/a n/a n/a
MLB Network* 41 n/a n/a n/a
Fox Soccer Channel** 28 25 67 n/a

PRIMETIME VIEWERSHIP

NETWORK '10 (000) '09 (000) '08 (000) '07 (000)
ESPN 2,400 2,303 2,122 1,952
ESPN2 634 693 641 657
Versus 279 307 278 225
NFL Network 258 223 175 196
Speed 228 280 273 240
NBA TV^ 131 n/a n/a n/a
Golf Channel 119 147 131 137
MLB Network* 95 n/a n/a n/a
ESPNews 87 84 86 89
Fox Soccer Channel** 39 37 70 n/a