- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
Now without looking at the financials I can't be certain of this, but I would bet that the US television contracts provided the largest single revenue stream for the ISU.
This used to be the case, but I don't think it is any more. In the late 1990s the ISU's contract with United States ABC television was something like $20,000,000. Now it is next to nothing. At the 2009 World Champoionship in Los Angeles, IIRC, the ISU essentially had to give the US television rights away for free because there was so little interest, even though the event was in the United States and was the pre-Olympic Worlds.
The USFSA is in the same boat. Back in the day they received so much money from ABC television that they were able to pay Michelle Kwan upwards of $900,000 per year. (The details are on public record, if anyone wants to dig them out, because the USFSA is a non-profit corporation for tax purposes.) For this, Michelle was expected to show up for all the ABC shows -- Skate America, U.S. Nationals, and the three annual cheesefests.
Now, I believe that their contract with NBC does not pay anything in cash, but rather USFS must round up sponsors and the Association gets to keep some of the money -- something like that.
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