CART interim CEO Bobby Rahal has made a new TV deal
"his top priority" since taking over for Andrew Craig,
according to Herb Gould of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. The
current ABC/ESPN deal runs through the 2001 season. Gould:
"CBS, which lost out in the NASCAR shuffle, now is a
potential player in CART's television future." CART has
retained SFX Sports Group to assist on a TV deal, and Gould
adds that a "chief concern is making a deal" in which CART's
TV partner "actively promotes the series." Gould notes
there is "widespread dissatisfaction" with the current time-
buy arrangement on ABC. Rahal: "The most important thing
is, we want to make sure there's a real investment in the
next [TV] situation. Who that partner will be -- if it's
ABC and ESPN, great -- I can't tell you. It's up for grabs
right now. But I'm confident we'll have the right
situation." Gould writes that while Craig "antagonized ABC
executives while trying to gain back some of the things CART
gave away in its haste to strike its original deal, Rahal
has emphasized" that the nets and CART "are partners that
should work together." Rahal: "Unfortunately, [CART] was
offending a lot of our constituents" (CHI. SUN-TIMES, 7/26).
RAHAL'S OPEN MIC: Rahal told "RPM 2Night" that the
future of open-wheel racing is "one series. I think most
everybody would like to see that." He added there should be
a "rationalization of the rules so that even if there wasn't
one series, that we could all get back together for a Super
Bowl of sorts and have a real shootout" (ESPN2, 7/25).
