Have USFSA / ISU ruined the popularity of skating as a sport?

[Query]

Someone I know used to watch everything related to figure skating on TV.

She says that since most of the figure skating events disappeared from normal TV (and are unavailable from her cable company), she has stopped paying attention to skating.

Now she doesn't recognize the athletes, and figure skating is over for her.

Even if she had reliable broadband Internet, the local network is set up in such a way IceNetwork.com - and therefore probably UniversalSports.com doesn't work - IceNetwork.com doesn't think she is in the U.S.A., so won't let her watch (she is).

USFSA and ISU are temporarily earning a few extra dollars, which they can spend as they desire, perhaps at the expense of destroying the popularity of the sport in the long run. Seems shortsighted in the long run.

I'd love to see the full events be available on free TV. And let hulu.com or tvguide.com replay it on the Internet.

How about you?

[JHarer]

I agree, it'd be great if events were available of hulu. We TiVo the championships this weekend.

[Isk8NYC]

ITA.  We used to be able to turn on the TV on a given Sat/Sun afternoon and there would be skating to watch.  Now it's complicated and exclusive. 

Off-topic, but last night I thought of something else that's affected the popularity of skating around the country.  I've felt for a long time that the current level of presentation and training has scared off a lot of skaters/families cost-wise. 

I also think the elite training centers that concentrate the skaters in one or two areas keeps the home crowd from really being aware that they have a talented local.  In-rink seminars give those some exposure around the country and build support for the skater here and there, but not with the same impact of having everyone in a given city rooting for their hometown skater.

[jumpingbeansmom]

ITA.  We used to be able to turn on the TV on a given Sat/Sun afternoon and there would be skating to watch.  Now it's complicated and exclusive. 

Off-topic, but last night I thought of something else that's affected the popularity of skating around the country.  I've felt for a long time that the current level of presentation and training has scared off a lot of skaters/families cost-wise. 

I also think the elite training centers that concentrate the skaters in one or two areas keeps the home crowd from really being aware that they have a talented local.  In-rink seminars give those some exposure around the country and build support for the skater here and there, but not with the same impact of having everyone in a given city rooting for their hometown skater.

That is probably true, my dd (10) was recently featured as a young up and coming skater in our local paper-- her coaches and the rink were so pleased to get some local publicity for kids who are working hard at this sport at a non-elite skating center. 

[Query]

Do you think skating fans could do anything practical to convince USFSA and ISU that it should be easy and cheap to watch skating competitions?

Or is the desire for short-term money going to dominate their actions no matter what we do?

[Doubletoe]

Which figure skating events used to be televised that aren't now?  U.S. Nationals (and I think Worlds?) are on NBC, and the Grand Prix events are on Universal Sports, which I get even though I only have pretty much basic cable.

[Query]

Who is your cable provider?

Universal Sports is also called "NBC Sports Channel", and is part of Comcast, as is NBC. It isn't available on some other cable networks, and usually costs extra.

If you have recently changed service, they may have temporarily added Universal Sports and many other channels at no cost - but in 6 - 12 months, your monthly cost may go from $35 to $120, and they will start charging extra for your boxes and remotes too. That's what we got when we recently switched to "digital cable". They said it wouldn't cost any extra, and there would be many extra channels. And they were right - at first! Maybe we should switch back and forth with another provider, like Verizon Fios, when the prices go up.

Only a few top skaters and the final events (e.g., free skate) are on NBC and Universal Sports.

I would love to find a legit (legal) cable channel provider who works for a reasonable price over the Internet connection. I only watch a few channels, like NBC, ABC, CBS, CW, Universal Sports, SyFy, Spike and BBC America. Some of those are available free over the Internet, but not others. Dish TV might work, but a house mate doesn't think satellites work.

[jjane45]

Yeah, a skating fan in Japan was doing pbp for Jason Brown's freeskate at U.S. Nationals! That speaks volumes 

[Isk8NYC]

Which figure skating events used to be televised that aren't now?  U.S. Nationals (and I think Worlds?) are on NBC, and the Grand Prix events are on Universal Sports, which I get even though I only have pretty much basic cable.

The only things shown on NBC for Nationals and Grand Prix are condensed selections of the main events/top finishers.  Often, the Grand Prix was shown a week or two AFTER the event, so it was old news.  Today, you know within minutes who won, and since the programs rarely change during the season, many people don't bother to watch the broadcast.  Occasionally, NBC might show a brilliant "also-skated" performance, but it's rare for the home audience to see those skaters at all these days. 

I love Universal Sports, but they were shut out of Nationals this year, showing only reruns of the NBC broadcast.  Last year, it was awesome to see every skater live for the major events.

NBC shows at most two hours of skating/events with commercials now, as opposed to 4-6 hours.  Then again, the Grand Prix didn't exist back in the day; there were Professional competitions being broadcast as well, so the variety of skating was more broad.

[Elsa]

NBC shows at most two hours of skating/events with commercials now, as opposed to 4-6 hours.  Then again, the Grand Prix didn't exist back in the day; there were Professional competitions being broadcast as well, so the variety of skating was more broad.

I miss those.  It was nice to have more skaters, and thus more programs to watch.  The concert/skate exhibition events just aren't the same, and yes watching the same freeskates over and over just doesn't have the same appeal.  *sigh*