Bloomburg Businessweek article: "Figure Skating FALL" | Golden Skate

Bloomburg Businessweek article: "Figure Skating FALL"

b-man

Final Flight
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
The decline in figure skating popularity has been discussed many times here. Now Busineesweek adds its view. The current issue of Businessweek has a fullpage article on the decline of figure skating in the US. It starts off noting the NBC nationals got a 0.7 rating in the 18-49 year old demographic, mentioning that some obscure show, 'Teen Mom 2,' gets a 1.7 rating in the same demo.

The article documents the high point of interest, with the Harding/Kerrigan incidents and the years of Kwan. It contrasts those years with 2014. "But the American women headed to the 2014 Winter games in Sochi, Russia- a trio of blonds including Gold, Ashley Wagner, and Polina Edmunds-- have almost no name recognition at all." The article mentions Gold's and Wagner's sponsorships, but continues, "they're relatively small deals in the world of Lindsey Vonn . . . . Vonn was No. 8 in Harris interactive poll." "Julie Mancuso, Vonn's heir apparent, has already appeared on the cover of "Outside' magazine and has 51,000 followers on Twitter, Wagner and Gold are in the 20,000 range, and Edmunds has a mere 3,385 followers . . ."

The article continues, "this is partly because the 'demure, pixie type' associated with the sport has fallen out of fashion. . . . The Harris poll also includes the Williams sisters and soccer players Hope Solo and Abby Wambach, all known more for their ouspokenness, aggression, speed and strength than their birdlike gracefulness."

"Brands are looking for personalities that are goiong to break through. The poise that's synonomous with figure skating might be working against Gold and her fellow skaters in the bid for recognition" . . . "To some extent, the U. S. Figure Skating Association doesn't really understand that controversy is good for the sport." . . .

The article continues that Gold has a lot of good features, very pretty, which could be a marketters dream, but "she's ranked ninth in the world right now."
"If you chart the popularity of figure skating, its directly related to whether we have a female star." The article says Gold could take a clue from gymnast McKayla Maroney, known for the "not impressed face," who has 476,000 Twitter followers.
 

aftertherain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
Wow, finally an article that discusses other points rather other than "the change in scoring systems hurt the sport". Bravo.
 

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
I think it's pretty unfair to compare the 3 figure skating ladies and their marketing viability with women athletes that have already won Gold Medals and been on national and international spotlights for some years.
 

gmyers

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 6, 2010
The most interesting thing is the comparison of the women in skating with the women in other sports and there's no comparison. Gymnastics used to but not longer puts any value in artistry. That leads to the point that the women have to project an image that they think will get them the most points from the judges in PCS and that goes completely against Serena Williams and Soccer players. An Irina Slutskaya type would fit with WIlliams and the soccer players but nothing is hated more in AMerican skating than Irina Slutskaya types!!!
 

iluvtodd

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Country
United-States
Well, when network TV barely shows figure skating on TV (not to mention basically ignoring pairs & ice dance), how can you build a fan base for future stars? I miss the ABC/ESPN coverage. Not everyone is willing to pay extra for icenetwork (I've got it, but am so far behind in watching it - got a lot of catching up to do).

BTW, I love the ladies, but I'd like to see the men get their due. I remember years of broadcasts when fs was pre-empted due to another sporting event running overtime. From a two hour broadcast, we saw just one hour. Who got pre-empted? The men, not the ladies.
 

Buttercup

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
I think it's pretty unfair to compare the 3 figure skating ladies and their marketing viability with women athletes that have already won Gold Medals and been on national and international spotlights for some years.
I agree. I doubt Lindsey Vonn's marketing/financial success would compare as favorably with skating superstars such as Yuna Kim and Mao Asada. There are some other skaters who probably make a nice income, such as Carolina Kostner and Kiira Korpi (who have some big sponsors/endorsements).

BTW, as far as I can tell Vonn is seventh in the Harris female sports star poll, behind Laila Ali and ahead of Hope Solo.
 

Barb

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 13, 2009
Agree, figure skating would be very popular in US having world winners, I think figure skating is not very popular in Korea when Yuna is not competing. I hope Gracie works very hard and start to win gold medals so this will change. If people can tolerate to watch golf :sarcasm::scratch:, I am sure they can tolerate to watch graceful people with music in their programs :yay:.
 

phaeljones

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 18, 2012
It is nice to see a magazine turn its attention to the sport of figure skating, and it addresses an important issue for the sport. I don't think much of its theory that people's association of the sport with the 'demure, pixie type' of its female skaters is a primary cause of its unpopularity. Although I do not profess to know for sure why figure skating has been so unpopular (I have a few theories . . . there are a whole bunch of factors that kind of came together like the perfect storm . . . not at all determinative of the matter but, just as an example, I think what happened at Salt Lake City is a bigger factor than the pixie features of its female skaters and more affected the consciousness of the public toward the sport . . . and that is not even starting on the antiquated federation system of running and controlling the sport) I would venture that neither the underlying premise (characteristics of the "ladies" skaters) nor the declared symptom (unpopularity) are key here. (Is it not more logical that the sport's unpopularity affects the ability of its skaters to become popular more than vice versa? Sure, it goes both ways, but the sport has to have a foundation first.) Perhaps the writer of the article has a personal issue with women who have demure pixie features and so he thinks the rest of the population does as well. (I don't so I can't relate.)

It would be interesting to hear Bloomberg magazine's explanation of the video of Brown's performance at Nationals going viral. Perhaps the ponytail? My theory is that it was good skating done by a great skater and it is just fantastic to watch when it is done so beautifully.

Popularity of sports can go in cycles. It has the potential to become popular again even with the pixies.
 

ranjake

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 19, 2005
Other than very little coverage in real time of MAJOR events, you basically have to do something illegal or pay a lot of money to see any figure skating in the US. Every crappy College Lacrosse game I can see on ESPN; and back in the days of Michelle and Tara you could find the stuff in real time on ESPN; maybe you'd have to stay up until 2 am; but you could find it. Plus; there were comps and cheesefests aired on network TV constantly. It's a different world, and it stinks for a skating fan. How do they expect most people to know who any of these people are? And combined with the fact that we haven't had enduring " American stars" in quite a while, just makes it worse.
 

Skater Boy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
The most interesting thing is the comparison of the women in skating with the women in other sports and there's no comparison. Gymnastics used to but not longer puts any value in artistry. That leads to the point that the women have to project an image that they think will get them the most points from the judges in PCS and that goes completely against Serena Williams and Soccer players. An Irina Slutskaya type would fit with WIlliams and the soccer players but nothing is hated more in AMerican skating than Irina Slutskaya types!!!

A surya type would be better very athletic, very outspoken and her own style. Not just ànother princess.
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
The link to the BloombergBusinessweek article:

The dearth of TV coverage was/is a result -- not a cause -- of figure skating's reduced popularity.

The potential to make money drives the programming on commercial TV networks. If the TV networks could make more money by showing more figure skating, they would.

It would be interesting to hear Bloomberg magazine's explanation of the video of Brown's performance at Nationals going viral. Perhaps the ponytail? My theory is that it was good skating done by a great skater and it is just fantastic to watch when it is done so beautifully.

Popularity of sports can go in cycles. It has the potential to become popular again even with the pixies.

With all due respect to Jason Brown:
"Good skating done by a great skater" cannot be the entire explanation for why his FS video went viral.
It was a terrific performance, but Jason does not have a monopoly on good skating done by a great skater. And yet for some reason(s), it was his video that went viral.

The vibrance of Jason's personality as he skated made a big difference.

And I believe that his Riverdance theme helped.
Not because Riverdance is universally beloved -- but because it is not. Jason's interpretation made people sit up and take notice because it made Riverdance enjoyable even to those who normally have an aversion to its music and style.
 

Manitou

Medalist
Joined
Jan 17, 2014
You mentioned 18-49 demographic. What was the ratings in 50+ demographics? I am sure by my observations that the main figure skating audience is in that range and I don't know why it was ignored. The world doesn't have to be entirely decided by youth. We have some numbers too.

And isn't the same situation in tennis? Besides the Williams sisters who slowly start to decline BTW, there is literally noone in the US with even a slight chance of prospect for a slam winner. And somehow the sport stays strong in the US mainly driven by foreign stars.
 

RABID

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
The decline in figure skating popularity has been discussed many times here. Now Busineesweek adds its view. The current issue of Businessweek has a fullpage article on the decline of figure skating in the US. It starts off noting the NBC nationals got a 0.7 rating in the 18-49 year old demographic, mentioning that some obscure show, 'Teen Mom 2,' gets a 1.7 rating in the same demo.

The article documents the high point of interest, with the Harding/Kerrigan incidents and the years of Kwan. It contrasts those years with 2014. "But the American women headed to the 2014 Winter games in Sochi, Russia- a trio of blonds including Gold, Ashley Wagner, and Polina Edmunds-- have almost no name recognition at all." The article mentions Gold's and Wagner's sponsorships, but continues, "they're relatively small deals in the world of Lindsey Vonn . . . . Vonn was No. 8 in Harris interactive poll." "Julie Mancuso, Vonn's heir apparent, has already appeared on the cover of "Outside' magazine and has 51,000 followers on Twitter, Wagner and Gold are in the 20,000 range, and Edmunds has a mere 3,385 followers . . ."

The article continues, "this is partly because the 'demure, pixie type' associated with the sport has fallen out of fashion. . . . The Harris poll also includes the Williams sisters and soccer players Hope Solo and Abby Wambach, all known more for their ouspokenness, aggression, speed and strength than their birdlike gracefulness."

"Brands are looking for personalities that are goiong to break through. The poise that's synonomous with figure skating might be working against Gold and her fellow skaters in the bid for recognition" . . . "To some extent, the U. S. Figure Skating Association doesn't really understand that controversy is good for the sport." . . .

The article continues that Gold has a lot of good features, very pretty, which could be a marketters dream, but "she's ranked ninth in the world right now."
"If you chart the popularity of figure skating, its directly related to whether we have a female star." The article says Gold could take a clue from gymnast McKayla Maroney, known for the "not impressed face," who has 476,000 Twitter followers.

This ^ ^ 90% of the problem. COP, essentially a non issue.
 

Barb

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 13, 2009
right now I don´t have much problem with the popularity of the sport, this have advantages :biggrin:, when the events are in USA and Canadá the tickets are cheap in comparison with others sports, I could to do a effort and save to pay for worlds in figure skating but I could never afford a ticket to the final of soccer world cup it is much expensive, and figure skaters are more reachable because they are not super famous, they answer you in twitter, etc. In Japan and Korea people complain because they can´t get tickets even if they have much money to pay it, and a picture with their favorite skater is a dream because everyone want a photo or autpgraph. But do you think the popularity can decrese more???:confused:, it would be terrible :cry:
 

ks777

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 15, 2003
Maybe Ashley or Gracie should start dating someone famous like A-rod, George Zimmerman or become BFF with Jodi Arias. If that happens, everyone will know who Gracie or Ashley is.
 

b-man

Final Flight
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
You mentioned 18-49 demographic. What was the ratings in 50+ demographics? I am sure by my observations that the main figure skating audience is in that range and I don't know why it was ignored. The world doesn't have to be entirely decided by youth. We have some numbers too.

The article doesn't mention the ratings for the 50+ demographic, merely stating the 18-49 demographic is "the most important group to advertisers." I agree with you that the ratings would be higher for the 50+ demo, and that people in the 50+ demographics have a lot of money. But Businessweek is by definition a business magazine, and their knowledge of the importance of specific demographic groups can't be discounted.
 

Robeye

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Maybe Ashley or Gracie should start dating someone famous like A-rod, George Zimmerman or become BFF with Jodi Arias. If that happens, everyone will know who Gracie or Ashley is.
Scraping the bottom of the barrel, are we? Are there no people they could date who are famous because they are good? ;)

Your suggestion gives me atavistic, archetypal shudders. It's like the Black Forest village that forces the beautiful maiden to marry the local ogre to save their own asses. :laugh:
 

desertskates

Medalist
Joined
Nov 19, 2013
Maybe Ashley or Gracie should start dating someone famous like A-rod, George Zimmerman or become BFF with Jodi Arias. If that happens, everyone will know who Gracie or Ashley is.

Lamar Odom is back on the market. Ugh, I shudder at the thought of any of our US girls boarding that train to hell...
 

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
After reading through this thread again I find myself agreeing with some of the points that I disagreed with earlier on. Nothing against them as skaters, but there haven't been any real personalities in skating since Michelle retired. Even Evan's star dulled rather quickly until he was rumored to be living with Vera Wang! His declaration to come back for this Olympic year was really only interesting to figure skating fans and it quickly turned into a soap opera - he's good, he's injured, he's practicing, he's injured, will he or won't he. Jeremy Abbott, Ashley Wagner and Schnapir and Castelli are good athletes but they aren't very charismatic IMO. To the average viewer - they're not very interesting people without their skates. But discussing which came first, the chicken or the egg, the lack of TV coverage or the waning interest in the sport, seems kind of futile.

I have another theory that's probably silly but the commentators have been boring as hell until Johnny and Tanith and Tara came along. I personally got SO tired of listening to Dick Button wax on and on about spirals and edges, Peggy Fleming adding nothing to the mix, Scott Hamilton gushing about everything, Sandra Bezic always talking about a skater's signature move......and don't get me started on Peter Carruthers. :disapp:I would have turned the sound off but then couldn't hear the music. They were boring to me.

But alas and alack, I don't have an answer for what to do about it. We can't grow interest if the public can't see the skating. Figure skating needs some stars that captivate the audience and make people want to go back and see that person again and again. I think Jason is a start whether it's his Riverdance, his ponytail, or his exhuberance on the ice. I think Gracie could create some interest because she's well-spoken, I think she's beautiful, and if she manages a top 10 at the Olympics she should get some good press. The USFSA needs to be more aggressive in getting figure skating out to the public, as well. It can't all be on the skaters. My son is a rugby player. Figure skating is not on his radar. But he did watch the Nats because I was there in Boston. He had some interesting comments to make but the only skater he really remembers is..............Jason!
 

Manitou

Medalist
Joined
Jan 17, 2014
The article doesn't mention the ratings for the 50+ demographic, merely stating the 18-49 demographic is "the most important group to advertisers." I agree with you that the ratings would be higher for the 50+ demo, and that people in the 50+ demographics have a lot of money. But Businessweek is by definition a business magazine, and their knowledge of the importance of specific demographic groups can't be discounted.

They have money, time and passion. And they come in numbers too. I don't understand why they are completely omitted the studies.
 
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