ABC and the ISU | Page 2 | Golden Skate

ABC and the ISU

Longhornliz

Final Flight
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
I wonder if this move will have any affect on the cable channel that is scheduled to begin being broadcasting this fall... I wonder if ESPN's deal is exclusive and if that would preven the ISU from selling broadcast rights of the 2004-2005 season to the ice channel?

Also I want to encourage all of you to call or write your cable providers asking them to pick up this new station... even if it will be offered as a premium channel and you dont forsee yourself purchasing it, we need to rally together as fans to make sure that the network really does come into fruition. It will increase the sports fan base, and maybe coverage of grand prix events will return to a major network in the near future.

www.theicechannel.com
 
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glow_girl85

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
well, this sucks cuz i live in Canada and i don't get ESPN. the Canadian channels only show some events, and hardly any GP events. does anyone know if any Canadian channels will be picking up more skating coverage next season?
 

Emilieanne

Rinkside
Joined
Sep 3, 2003
Despite all what is going on, the ISU still needs money and lots of it! Where do the ISU powers-that-be think those monies are going to come from? The need for those monies is great enough that at some point a lot of crow (or skunk) will have to be eaten in some form or another to get those monies (yeah, I know...that will be the day). This is going to make for a most interesting show just to see what the powers-that-be actually do to get the monies necessary to support their lifestyles.:D :laugh:
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
I do think that a big part of the reason for the decline of interest in figure skating by the general public is the perception that it's fixed, phoney, fraudulent, political, bloc judging, bribing, etc., etc., etc.

Ask a casual fan what he or she remembers about the 2002 Olympics and the answer will be (if not "huh?"), "French judge." Not Sarah hughes coming from behind in a stunning upset, not Alexei Yagudin racking up the 6.0s, but crooked judging.

What is remembered about 1994? Wicked Communist Jan Hofmann cheated for Oksana Baiul against all-American sweetheart Nancy Kerrigan.

It is never good for any sport when the fans leave the arena talking about the officiating instead of the game. That was the worst thing about Worlds. All the buzz is about whether the judges cheated against Michelle or for Michelle, and once again it is the referee and judges, not the skaters, who are in the spotlight of attention.

No sport can prosper in this kind of climate. The ISU is pinning it's hopes on the CoP. We'll see. If Cinquanta does not give in on the issue of secret judging, I bet this next Olympics will be the least-watched of the last 20 years.

Actually, I think Cinquanta will ditch the secret judging and the random draw. I think the IOC will make him do so, if they want any audience at all.

(End of rant, LOL.):)

Mathman
 

jfdw

Rinkside
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Hi
I cannot remember the exact details but CBC did sign a contract with the ISU for figure skating broadcasts for the next four years I believe. I also am quite sure they will cover grand prix events next year as well as world's. They had over 12 hours of coverage of this year's worlds so if that is any indication I am hoping for good coverage in Canada for the next four years
jfdw
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Some ways this is better, for me at least. I have Lifetime! It's unlikely that Comcast would have picked up the Ice Channel until it proved its ability to make money. Now I'll have what there is at once. And if the segment gets market share, Ice Channel may indeed become a channel. But then Comcast may well pick it up.
 

SK8GR8

Rinkside
Joined
Dec 16, 2003
Mathman said:
I do think that a big part of the reason for the decline of interest in figure skating by the general public is the perception that it's fixed, phoney, fraudulent, political, bloc judging, bribing, etc., etc., etc.

I think you are right about this. What's really sad is that it is the media that escalates these issues. I'm not saying that unfair or fixed judging doesn't take place or that when it does, it should be ignored. But there are ways to address these issues that don't involve the media turning it into the story of the century. It's sad that the media would choose to overdo a story that in the short term, would bring a lot of public attention to skating, but in the long run, would end up giving skating less of the viewing public than before because the media showed skating in such a bad light.

No matter what "scandals" happen in the world of skating, I will always be a fan and want to watch the skating (and not the drama). It's really sad that there will be even less opportunity to do so.
 

euterpe

Medalist
Joined
Sep 4, 2003
Face it: this year's Grand Prix was a bore. Half of the competitions featured Cohen and Arakawa, with Cohen always winning, no matter how erratically she skated, and Arakawa finishing 2nd or 3rd. The other 3 competitions featured a bunch of hard-luck skaters, with Elena Liashenko coming out on top most of the time. Elena Liashenko? Now there's a name unknown to the average viewer.

For US fans, Tim Goebel was disturbingly out of shape, and Mikey Weiss was just plain embarrassing, as were the US Pairs. The Canadian fans cheered for Buttle, cringed at Sandhu's indifferent performances, and kept hoping for a Canadian lady to win a berth at the final--to no avail. Meanwhile, Evgeny Plushenko, he of the injured knee, collected a pile of gold medals. There was a bit of excitement over the GPF, with Buttle having to drop out due to illness, and Sandhu defeating Plushenko on a peculiar CoP technicality, and Cohen finally facing defeat at the feet of a resurgent Fumie Suguri. But by then, having had to wait so long to see each GP installment, the fans had dropped like flies.

Is it going to be any better this year? Probably not. But we can hope...
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Longhornliz said:
I am also hesitant to attribute all of the blame for this move to the SLC scandal. I'm a big fan of skating and I had already gotten over it. There have been acusations of rigging for years, this is just the highest profile instance where they caught them in it. In the past all the drama with the eastern block giving unwarented low scored to north american skaters drew more attention as well. I dont think that any scoring system can ever totally do away with inconsistencies in judging... although its a sport, it is one that is evaluated subjectively. I think that some of the scandal is actually GOOD for the sport. Look at the ratings from the lilehammer olympics due to the whole nancy and tanya thing.

Longhornliz - Your post is very good but you haven't given a reason for the downgrading figure skating from a mjor network to cable. It is obvious that there is a decline in interest but if the SLC didn't cause it, what did?

Joe
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Quote:
Face it: this year's Grand Prix was a bore. Half of the competitions featured Cohen and Arakawa, with Cohen always winning, no matter how erratically she skated, and Arakawa finishing 2nd or 3rd. The other 3 competitions featured a bunch of hard-luck skaters, with Elena Liashenko coming out on top most of the time. Elena Liashenko? Now there's a name unknown to the average viewer
---------------------------------------------------------------------------.

Eurterpe - There are some people who may have viewed the Grand Prix series as a bore but we all watched them anyway. So it is not like there was a drop in interest from the avid fans. And casual fans will only watch figure skating when they are at home and at ease. They don't make it a point to watch.

Joe
 

Longhornliz

Final Flight
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
SkateCynic, Can you copy and paste some of that article, I cant seem to log in unless I'm a subscriber.

Joe--I dont think that the drop in ratings actually reflects a lack of interest in figure skating persay. I think it is part of a larger trend of dropping ratings, reality television has had a big impact on the viewership of the major networks. People either love it, and ratings for sitcoms, dramas and sporting events drop. Or people hate it, and are turned off from television and the ratings for sitcoms, dramas and sporting events drop.

SLC probably played some role in people becoming frustrated with the sport. But I think its impact was temporary. I dont think that a casual fan would care that the judging system is suspect... and commited fans are ready to move forward in hopes that COP will resolve some of these problems.

Thats just what I think... TV is in trouble. The convergence of media in the digital and wireless age is causing some market fluctuations. These changes paired with the change in taste of viewers (to a more reality-centric programming model) are definately challenging the second tier sports and their marketing feasibility.
 

mpal2

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
I don't know what non-skating fans think overall, but I do know that my co-wokers were channel surfing and stopped at the Worlds Championship coverage because they knew I watched it. They didn't stay on the channel long (enough to see Sasha and Michelle), but they all commented on Michelle. Even though she didn't win, they all thought she was better and how amazing she was after the streaker.

Based on the above, I still insist that if I yap about skating enough I will get a few more people watching that normally wouldn't. :laugh:
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Joesitz:

We had the same worry here in Canada with CTV coverage. However, good old CBC stepped up to the plate and did a great job!

Your post is very good but you haven't given a reason for the downgrading figure skating from a mjor network to cable. It is obvious that there is a decline in interest but if the SLC didn't cause it, what did?

I don't think the SLC Olympics caused a decline in public interest in figure skating. I think it's just gone back to the way it has always been.

Figure skating has always been an elite sport and unlike hockey does not get a lot of coverage all year, plus the competitions that are shown on tv are few and far between. Unless people are huge fans and want to attend the Regional and local competitions they have to pretty much wait for the Nationals and Worlds on tv. It's not a huge money maker for tv like hockey or baseball.

There are the die-hard fans like us here at Golden Skate. As long as they keep broadcasting fs somewhere on tv we will be there!!!!
 

skatesindreams

Rinkside
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
TV Coverage

Interest in, and coverage of skating has always come in cycles. We are at the bottom of the latest one; there will be a surge up prior to the 2006 Olympics - and back down again, after.
 

Longhornliz

Final Flight
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Interesting perspective Ladskater, I agree.

But the analogy using Hockey as a top tier sport doesnt translate to American viewership!!! Yall Canadians sure do love some hockey... too bad the only hockey I have ever seen is minor league.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Hockey as well as Golf, and tennis, are serious sports. Pro FS Competitions were silly. More like Exhibitions.

As for reality TV, Figure Skating should re REAL.

Joe
 
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