Breaking down NBC’s coverage

[moonvine]

Note: I did not watch any of the men’s or pairs coverage.

I have my Youtube TV set up to automagically record any figure skating that comes on any channel.

So apparently skating (at least for Skate America) has been relegated to E!

They’ve gone back even further than when they showed the top 6. Now they show the top 3 only, with any Americans that weren’t in the top 3 and maybe 1 other team/skater. So for ID they showed KanaDai and the winners. That was it. For women they showed the top 3 women and Gracie. At a major figure skating event in the US where they US dominated as they haven’t in years…maybe ever? Golds in 3 disciplines, silver and bronze in women’s?

And the commercials..dear Goddess…Prevagen, life insurance, cheap cell plan for old people, and butt deodorant. Maybe next year we can get Depends, Polident, an assisted living community, an anti baldness drug.,the possibilities are endless.

 

[katymay]

Note: I did not watch any of the men’s or pairs coverage.

I have my Youtube TV set up to automagically record any figure skating that comes on any channel.

So apparently skating (at least for Skate America) has been relegated to E!

They’ve gone back even further than when they showed the top 6. Now they show the top 3 only, with any Americans that weren’t in the top 3 and maybe 1 other team/skater. So for ID they showed KanaDai and the winners. That was it. For women they showed the top 3 women and Gracie. At a major figure skating event in the US where they US dominated as they haven’t in years…maybe ever? Golds in 3 disciplines, silver and bronze in women’s?

And the commercials..dear Goddess…Prevagen, life insurance, cheap cell plan for old people, and butt deodorant. Maybe next year we can get Depends, Polident, an assisted living community, an anti baldness drug.,the possibilities are endless.

I took my daughter and her boyfriend to Skate America last year-their observation was that they had never seen so many grouchy old people in one place. Except for a large group of young women from Japan, the audience WAS older- 60+ I would say. In the United States figure skating is just not attracting new, younger viewers. I think the last spark of popularity of the sport was when Gracie Gold was at the top-before the rise of the Russian ladies. Even the stardom of Nathan Chen wasn't enough to reverse aging demographics.

 

[alexocfp]

Note: I did not watch any of the men’s or pairs coverage.

I have my Youtube TV set up to automagically record any figure skating that comes on any channel.

So apparently skating (at least for Skate America) has been relegated to E!

They’ve gone back even further than when they showed the top 6. Now they show the top 3 only, with any Americans that weren’t in the top 3 and maybe 1 other team/skater. So for ID they showed KanaDai and the winners. That was it. For women they showed the top 3 women and Gracie. At a major figure skating event in the US where they US dominated as they haven’t in years…maybe ever? Golds in 3 disciplines, silver and bronze in women’s?

And the commercials..dear Goddess…Prevagen, life insurance, cheap cell plan for old people, and butt deodorant. Maybe next year we can get Depends, Polident, an assisted living community, an anti baldness drug.,the possibilities are endless.

This post is tremendous. Funniest thing I’ll read today.

Has me in stitches, I’m laughing while typing up this response.

If it makes you feel better, the alpine ski World Cup began this weekend, and our friends at peacock managed to miss the opening skier of the season and didn’t begin the stream until the 2nd one. Peacock started off great but it’s been going downhill faster than the skiers have.

 

[alexocfp]

I took my daughter and her boyfriend to Skate America last year-their observation was that they had never seen so many grouchy old people in one place. Except for a large group of young women from Japan, the audience WAS older- 60+ I would say. In the United States figure skating is just not attracting new, younger viewers. I think the last spark of popularity of the sport was when Gracie Gold was at the top-before the rise of the Russian ladies. Even the stardom of Nathan Chen wasn't enough to reverse aging demographics.

If the people covering the sport in America don’t care as shown by the post above from @moonvine, the people won’t care and you can’t grow your audience.

Slapfighting and pickle ball are doing a better job promoting their sport than figure skating is.

 

[Seven Sisters]

I was at the comp live, and the broadcast booth was easily visible to everyone n the arena. Tara and Johnny did not even appear until the final flights, and made a very stagy-looking grand entry in coordinating ensembles when they did appear the first night, which was quite amusing

Also quite entertaining was watching Kaitlyn Weaver trying to explain ice dance basics to Johnny during the free. As well as Johnny scurrying up to the booth in an eye-catching black and white ensemble after having taken his leave a bit too long during a break

 

[noskates]

First of all, Skate America was kind of in an out-of-the way place. I think had it been sponsored elsewhere you would have had a different audience. People complain about Las Vegas but it's easy to get to from almost anywhere in the states - for example. But I honestly don't feel one competition adequately represents the interest in figure skating. But I do agree that USFSS hasn't done much at all to promote the sport. And it hasn't helped that Peacock has decided not to archive the events. It wasn't too hard to watch if you're in the US but when the GPs go to other countries and far different time zones it will be nearly impossible. As much as I love the sport there is no way I'll get up in the middle of the night to watch it.

P.S. Tara is even more annoying to me than ever. She talks more and says less.

 

[moonvine]

First of all, Skate America was kind of in an out-of-the way place. I think had it been sponsored elsewhere you would have had a different audience. People complain about Las Vegas but it's easy to get to from almost anywhere in the states - for example. But I honestly don't feel one competition adequately represents the interest in figure skating. But I do agree that USFSS hasn't done much at all to promote the sport. And it hasn't helped that Peacock has decided not to archive the events. It wasn't too hard to watch if you're in the US but when the GPs go to other countries and far different time zones it will be nearly impossible. As much as I love the sport there is no way I'll get up in the middle of the night to watch it.

P.S. Tara is even more annoying to me than ever. She talks more and says less.

I thought the crowd was probably the best crowd I’ve ever seen in my life. I love that facility. For me it is I’m no way out of the way and I’m coming from St Louis. I hope they have it there again next year.

What’s out of the way is Lake Placid. It’s almost impossible to get to unless you live in easy driving distance. It is a cool place with a ton of history. They should make it into a museum and hold skating events elsewhere.

 

[moonvine]

First of all, Skate America was kind of in an out-of-the way place. I think had it been sponsored elsewhere you would have had a different audience. People complain about Las Vegas but it's easy to get to from almost anywhere in the states - for example. But I honestly don't feel one competition adequately represents the interest in figure skating. But I do agree that USFSS hasn't done much at all to promote the sport. And it hasn't helped that Peacock has decided not to archive the events. It wasn't too hard to watch if you're in the US but when the GPs go to other countries and far different time zones it will be nearly impossible. As much as I love the sport there is no way I'll get up in the middle of the night to watch it.

P.S. Tara is even more annoying to me than ever. She talks more and says less.

It’s easy enough to watch with replays. Just put a small piece of software on your computer or phone.

 

[moonvine]

I was at the comp live, and the broadcast booth was easily visible to everyone n the arena. Tara and Johnny did not even appear until the final flights, and made a very stagy-looking grand entry in coordinating ensembles when they did appear the first night, which was quite amusing

Also quite entertaining was watching Kaitlyn Weaver trying to explain ice dance basics to Johnny during the free. As well as Johnny scurrying up to the booth in an eye-catching black and white ensemble after having taken his leave a bit too long during a break

They didn’t appear until then because they were only covering the final 3 skaters (not even the final group) and one additional skater/team (KanaDai and Gracie)
They didn’t even cover the other US dance team.

 

[Seven Sisters]

I thought the crowd was probably the best crowd I’ve ever seen in my life. I love that facility. For me it is I’m no way out of the way and I’m coming from St Louis. I hope they have it there again next year.

What’s out of the way is Lake Placid. It’s almost impossible to get to unless you live in easy driving distance. It is a cool place with a ton of history. They should make it into a museum and hold skating events elsewhere.

Lake Placid is out of the way, yes, but it is a wonderful place to watch skating. Not only are you in the rink which was the site of the fabled Miracle on Ice, but everything—shops, hotels, plenty of food and coffee options, parking, etc—is in easy walking distance of the rink. Many opportunities to casually “run into” skaters as they go about their business. Beautiful mountain/lake scenery. For those with mobility challenges, it also offers the best disability services of any rink I’ve ever seen—the disability seating is in the first row from the ice, with easy access from ground level for wheelchairs, etc, and staff only too happy to help.

I would go back to Lake Placid in a heartbeat!

 

[elbkup]

First of all, Skate America was kind of in an out-of-the way place. I think had it been sponsored elsewhere you would have had a different audience. People complain about Las Vegas but it's easy to get to from almost anywhere in the states - for example. But I honestly don't feel one competition adequately represents the interest in figure skating. But I do agree that USFSS hasn't done much at all to promote the sport. And it hasn't helped that Peacock has decided not to archive the events. It wasn't too hard to watch if you're in the US but when the GPs go to other countries and far different time zones it will be nearly impossible. As much as I love the sport there is no way I'll get up in the middle of the night to watch it.

P.S. Tara is even more annoying to me than ever. She talks more and says less.

Regarding Tara: I was watching the women’s short event on Peacock sans commentary and all was going smoothly until Isabeau Levito stepped on the ice and coverage shifted automatically to NBC Johnny/Tara talkfest. I was livid!!
Tara talked throughout Isabeau’s performance, undercutting music and magic of the program.. I was able to shift back to Peacock noncommentary but it was convoluted and I missed the K&C and her scores… somehow I see this platform going downhill in future..

 

[Amei]

Lake Placid is out of the way, yes, but it is a wonderful place to watch skating. Not only are you in the rink which was the site of the fabled Miracle on Ice, but everything—shops, hotels, plenty of food and coffee options, parking, etc—is in easy walking distance of the rink. Many opportunities to casually “run into” skaters as they go about their business. Beautiful mountain/lake scenery. For those with mobility challenges, it also offers the best disability services of any rink I’ve ever seen—the disability seating is in the first row from the ice, with easy access from ground level for wheelchairs, etc, and staff only too happy to help.

I would go back to Lake Placid in a heartbeat!

But you are a skating fan, maybe even a bit of a diehard fan so you are likely more willing to go to 'out of the way places to see a figure skating event, USFS shouldn't really be looking at how to appease you as they already have you, they need to look at how to best get casual fans in the stands.

 

[el henry]

It’s easy enough to watch with replays. Just put a small piece of software on your computer or phone.

I'm pretty sure that Noskates, having posted in the forum about how her TV didn't record the replays, knows that. Just like you know there are ways to skip commercials.

Back to the original point, it is a shame that cable/network channels have cut down so much on coverage. But it is a vicious circle, and which came first? Commercial networks are not charitable enterprises and if they get more eyeballs for other programs, that is what they will do.

The television audience is a different issue than the in person audience. From what I can tell, there were fair amount of young people at SA. (relatively speaking, skating always has and always will skew older than other sports in the US. IMO, the US could have skate til you drop camps of 15 year olds, and it would still skew older. ). I really like the "smaller venue/louder crowd" idea and I hope USFS does it again.

 

[purplecat]

So apparently skating (at least for Skate America) has been relegated to E!

They’ve gone back even further than when they showed the top 6. Now they show the top 3 only, with any Americans that weren’t in the top 3 and maybe 1 other team/skater. So for ID they showed KanaDai and the winners. That was it. For women they showed the top 3 women and Gracie.

I'm confused cause I watched E! yesterday (on cable tv) and I saw the whole final flight of dance... Muramoto & Takahashi, Harris and Chan, plus the three medalists. And then they showed all 11 women's freeskates. Did Youtube TV show an abbreviated version? Strange.

 

[TontoK]

I'm confused cause I watched E! yesterday (on cable tv) and I saw the whole final flight of dance... Muramoto & Takahashi, Harris and Chan, plus the three medalists. And then they showed all 11 women's freeskates. Did Youtube TV show an abbreviated version? Strange.

I watched both flights of both segments of all four events on the ISU YouTube channel. I can go back and watch it all again if I wanted, which I do not.

It has commentary, but it's pretty minimal during the actual skating.

 

[purplecat]

I watched both flights of both segments of all four events on the ISU YouTube channel. I can go back and watch it all again if I wanted, which I do not.

It has commentary, but it's pretty minimal during the actual skating.

Yeah, I know the ISU Youtube shows everything but I was talking specifically about the E! broadcast yesterday. I think moonvine saw a different version of the E! broadcast on Youtube TV then I saw on my regular cable tv.

 

[moonvine]

Lake Placid is out of the way, yes, but it is a wonderful place to watch skating. Not only are you in the rink which was the site of the fabled Miracle on Ice, but everything—shops, hotels, plenty of food and coffee options, parking, etc—is in easy walking distance of the rink. Many opportunities to casually “run into” skaters as they go about their business. Beautiful mountain/lake scenery. For those with mobility challenges, it also offers the best disability services of any rink I’ve ever seen—the disability seating is in the first row from the ice, with easy access from ground level for wheelchairs, etc, and staff only too happy to help.

I would go back to Lake Placid in a heartbeat!

I have no doubt it is a wonderful place. And for people who can drive there it is easy to get to. For the rest of the country it is not. I have a friend who used to be an adult skater and she says every 3 years her feed fills up with other adult skaters trying to figure out how the heck to get there.

I would have to ride a train to NY or Boston, find some kind of way to get to the train or bus that goes to Lake Placid, and I have no idea what hotels would cost. It’s just not worth it for me. Are there Ubers or shuttles from the bus or train station to the hotels? Maybe I could rent a car in Boston or NY (wherever one goes to do that).

 

[moonvine]

But you are a skating fan, maybe even a bit of a diehard fan so you are likely more willing to go to 'out of the way places to see a figure skating event, USFS shouldn't really be looking at how to appease you as they already have you, they need to look at how to best get casual fans in the stands.

It is relatively easy for @Seven Sisters or anyone who lives in the NY/NJ/PA area to get there; I have it on good authority that it’s a straight shot down the Interstate. It’s a problem for anyone who lives anywhere else.

 

[cheerknithanson]

Lake Placid is out of the way, yes, but it is a wonderful place to watch skating. Not only are you in the rink which was the site of the fabled Miracle on Ice, but everything—shops, hotels, plenty of food and coffee options, parking, etc—is in easy walking distance of the rink. Many opportunities to casually “run into” skaters as they go about their business. Beautiful mountain/lake scenery. For those with mobility challenges, it also offers the best disability services of any rink I’ve ever seen—the disability seating is in the first row from the ice, with easy access from ground level for wheelchairs, etc, and staff only too happy to help.

I would go back to Lake Placid in a heartbeat!

I was there for Skate America 2017. So life-changing and was the best part of 2017. GORGEOUS location. Such a storybook location.

 

[moonvine]

I'm confused cause I watched E! yesterday (on cable tv) and I saw the whole final flight of dance... Muramoto & Takahashi, Harris and Chan, plus the three medalists. And then they showed all 11 women's freeskates. Did Youtube TV show an abbreviated version? Strange.

I think it may be that I wanted to watch only 4 routines (2 dance, 2 women) and I may have missed some things. I’m right about the commercials though. So I guess half right is better than 0%.

Although @Seven Sisters said Johnny and Tara didn’t show up until the final flights. If that’s the case how did they do commentary on the first flight? I remain confused