TV ratings for the IndyCar Series zoomed 44 percent this year for the races leading up to the Indianapolis 500, compared to the same period a year ago, buoyed in part by a strong showing for the new Grand Prix of Indianapolis. But overall viewership remains anemic—less than one-fourth the audience for most NASCAR races.
WTHR-TV Channel 13 recently stole a page from WXIN-TV Channel 59’s winning playbook by adding a 4 a.m. newscast. WXIN pioneered the ultra-early trend locally in 2009. But with a second station now on at 4 a.m., who is watching television at that hour?
The Indianapolis station enjoying the biggest bump was WTHR-TV Channel 13, whose network affiliate NBC and some of its own staff covered the games in Sochi.
The NBA season isn’t supposed to start in earnest until after the Super Bowl. But the Indiana Pacers this season didn’t wait until an NFL champion was crowned to go red hot—on and off the court.
There’s no disputing that Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles has added horsepower to the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his first year on the job. But there are grumblings Miles has not focused enough on the products that literally drive the series—the drivers themselves.
The Indiana Pacers are the hottest team in the National Basketball Association, and their winning ways are paying off for the team and its broadcast partner.
The network said the Tuesday night telecast averaged 920,000 viewers, topping out at more than 1 million from 10:15 to 10:30 p.m. EST.
Channel 8 earned bragging rights as the most-watched weather source during the tornado strikes on Sunday, although the Chicago Bears might have helped draw eyeballs.
At one point, about 80 percent of the households in Indy watching TV Sunday night were tuned to Peyton Manning’s spoiled homecoming.
The debut of popular meteorologist Angela Buchman at WTHR-TV Channel 13 last month coincides with its newscast ratings' soaring like a cumulonimbus cloud on a hot afternoon.
The owner of WTHR-TV Channel 13 has reached into its broadcasting backyard to poach a new president and general manager for the station, hiring Larry Delia from WXIN-TV Fox59.
ABC-TV’s telecast of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday earned a 3.7 rating nationwide, one of the race’s worst ratings performances in recent history.
Lagging in the ratings, the local station is aiming for an uptick under new ownership with a morning news show on weekends.
Over his four-year tenure, Lee Rosenthal helped WXIN-TV Channel 59 more than double the airtime it devotes to news.
Three of Indianapolis’ four local TV news providers—WTHR-TV Channel 13, WISH-TV Channel 8 and WRTV-TV Channel 6—are looking for news directors.
The team’s first game was the most-watched opening night game since 2007.
IndyCar Series officials insist the open-wheel circuit is on the right track despite a drop in its television ratings, tepid attendance and persistent rumors that it will be sold and its CEO will be fired.
Several industry sources say Patti McGettigan was escorted from the WISH-TV Channel 8 building Friday after a three-year run as the local CBS affiliate's news director. The station isn't commenting on what led to her abrupt departure.
WTHR led in the ratings for its nightly newscasts during the May sweeps in the key 25-to-54-year-old demographic, but TV stations are rapidly losing these coveted viewers. The addition of popular meteorologist Angela Buchman could help Channel 13 staunch further losses.
On Sunday, the Indiana Pacers grabbed the attention of a big chunk of the local market, drawing nearly 10 times the television audience they did for their regular-season games.
