Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 was easily the race’s least-viewed telecast on record, with ABC drawing 4.91 million viewers for its last broadcast of the race. Will Power’s win was down from the 5.27 million viewers that saw Takuma Sato’s victory, which was the previous low. The 100th running of the race in ’16, which and saw the telecast air live in the Indianapolis TV market for the first time since ’50, drew 6.0 million viewers. The last time the Indy 500 topped 10 million viewers was in ’95, the last year before the IRL-Champ Car split (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor). In Indianapolis, Jim Ayello writes he is "stumped" that the audience levels for the Indy 500 "continue to plummet." Ayello: "I know motor sports don't occupy the same place in as many hearts as they used to, but ... this is a bit mind-boggling." There is "no spinning" the all-time low audience, which "has to be a huge disappointment for IndyCar and IMS, which are now counting on NBC to reverse a troubling trend." NBC takes over next year as the rights holder for the Indy 500 (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/31).
READY FOR A FRESH START: In Indianapolis, Bob Kravitz wrote there is "little doubt" that viewership will improve "once NBC gets its claws" into the Indy 500 next year, comparing it to the increase the Kentucky Derby saw when it moved from ABC to NBC in '01. NBC Sports will offer viewers, "both hard-core and marginal, far more ways to experience the IndyCar product." Eight races are slated for NBC's broadcast network compared to five this year on ABC, and the company "will give viewers infinitely more viewing options when it comes to qualifications and anything else that involves motorsports." It also will fit the Indy 500 "into the middle of its big-event roster, present it as part of a larger championship season." However, the question remains as to whether the net can "do enough to revive ratings in a significant way." NBC Sports & NBCSN President of Programming Jon Miller said when the net made the Kentucky Derby a "big event" when it secured the race. Miller: "We put all the assets of NBC Universal into play. And it's transcended its normal audience where it's not just a male-dominated audience. ... We're going to unleash all our marketing power and promotion power to hopefully do something similar (for the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar)." Kravitz noted the "trick for NBC will be to make the marginal motorsports fan ... care the way that we care here in Indy. Kravitz: "That's by trumpeting the event, using other properties to promote the 500, making it relevant to the man or woman who doesn't yet know they should care deeply about this event and this series" (WTHR.com, 5/29).
