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Monday, August 13 CART parts ways with ABC, ESPN By Robin Miller ESPN.com INDIANAPOLIS -- As promised, Joe Heitzler has finally secured a television package for Championship Auto Racing Teams and while it adds a new network in CBS it no longer contains longtime partners ABC or ESPN. Following months of negotiation and speculation, ESPN.com has learned Heitzler signed a three-year deal with CBS, SpeedVision, FX and Fox Sports Net. CBS will reportedly carry eight races live in 2002, nine in 2003 and 10 in 2004, with cable outlets SpeedVision and FX airing the remaining races, in addition to practice, qualifying and special shows. Rob Correa, senior vice president of programming for CBS, told The Associated Press on Tuesday, "CBS does have a deal with CART to try to do seven races per year for the next three years, schedule permitting." CBS carried Indy-car races, then under sanction by the U.S. Auto Club, in the mid-to-late 1970s and had the Daytona 500 from 1978 through 2000. Fox, in its initial season of televising NASCAR along with NBC, recently purchased SpeedVision, a channel that currently carries Formula One, sports cars and motorcycle competition. "We have had discussions and are very optimistic it will be done in the very near future," said Fox spokesman Lou D'Ermilio. Heitzler, CART's chief executive officer since last December and a former employee of CBS Sports, could not be reached for comment but one of the perks is that the new package will provide the champ car series with many more hours of coverage. It's believed CART will produce all its programming in house but it's not known whether the races will be time buys or if CBS, SpeedVision and FX are paying a rights fee. Additionally, CART's international TV rights, which generate a reported $5 to $6 million profit, will go back to the public company. But this news clearly widens the line in the sand between the country's top two open-wheel organizations -- Indy Racing League and CART. ABC, which began televising CART races in 1979, and ESPN, a TV partner of the champ cars for the past 16 years, will now exclusively cover Tony George's all-oval series -- which obviously includes the Indianapolis 500. Since the split in open-wheel racing in 1996, ABC and ESPN have covered both IRL and CART races. But, recently, ABC announced it would only air IRL events after the current CART contract expires this year. "There are two horses in open-wheel racing and we felt that in terms of ratings and profitability, we would follow suit with ABC and go with the IRL," said Mark Shapiro, senior vice-president and general manager of ESPN Programming. "Everyone knows the Super Bowl of open-wheel racing is the Indy 500 and if open-wheel racing is ever going to return to its success of the mid-80s than we feel it's going to have to be done on the backs of the IRL." Besides Indianapolis, which garnered a 5.4 rating last May, neither IRL or CART generate anything approaching respectable ratings. Most telecasts hover around a 1.0. But Shapiro said the uncertainty of CART's future played a big role in the decision. "Between the engine manufacturers serious concerns, losing its most successful race at Michigan and its business strategy still undetermined, we just can't be sure of where CART is going," Shapiro said. Burke Magnus, director of brand management for ESPN, said CART's steadily declining ratings also played a factor. "We've been on the same contract since 1994 and this was the first opportunity since the split to change direction," Magnus said. "We do have CART races left on ESPN and we intend to honor that commitment. "We had a good association and we wish them well. We've just decided to back Tony's horse." The Associated Press contributed to this report.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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