Penske Racing president Tim Cindric told the Indianapolis Business Journal that the IZOD IndyCar Series has to address its TV deal if it is to improve its return on investment to sponsors. The majority of IndyCar events, as well as Indy 500 qualifying, air on the Versus cable network.
“The TV contract is something that needs to change,” Cindric said. “We need to try to get on a network with a larger viewing audience. That's the bottom line. For our sponsors we have to do anything we can to drive ratings.”
IndyCar telecasts on Versus have gained a slight increase in audience in the second year of the league's 10-year contract with the network, but still remain below the 1.0 Nielsen mark. The
IBJ reports that IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard has been in discussions with Versus officials this week, and quotes him as saying, "I have more confidence" about the relationship following the meetings.