what do you mean? the skaters who get medals are the ones skating segments of the competition, not everyone on the team.
there are other sports that do similar team events... for instance, we could look at equestrians...
there are also new formats of relays in all sorts of disciplines including luge and skiing.
The point is that the IOC wants to have more and more team events (as long as they don't mean adding extra athletes) and they also want more and more mixed sports. It's why we see these events coming in year after year and not some others. I am happy that there is a team event at the Olympics because for instance, it encourages nations to develop all disciplines. Look at China for instance, they are slowly starting to build young Ice dance teams and I am pretty sure it's because they want to get closer to the podium for 2022. If they manage to do what they did for pairs, China will be a superpower in skating ! that's awesome!
The inclusion of the Team Event makes good sense for the IOC.
Figure skating is a main event (I would say THE main event) in the Winter Olympics.
By limiting participation to athletes who are already competing, the cost to the IOC is virtually nothing, and they get three more nights of major sport coverage and the ratings that will go with it.
In USA, there are a few oddballs like myself who enjoy watching sports like biathlon and Nordic combined... but we're few and far between. Unless there is some major human interest story or a rare American in contention, the networks need something to keep Americans tuned in. The team event takes care of three nights.
As for me, I like it because we get to see more skating, and more skaters get medals.