Making figure skating mainstream is exactly the way to kill it. It is a unique sport that will never appeal to many people and forcing the change will make it lose its appeal to the fans (who like it the way it is) and the skaters who chose the sport and dedicated their lives to it knowing very well how it is perceived.
IMO the problem is the marketing of the sport, not because it is hard to sell but because the media is not trying. The articles about how it is not a sport that keeps coming every Olympic season, the articles and videos focusing on costumes and even suggesting that you win if you have the prettier dress, the lack of exposure to the stars of the sport, and the worst part is the commentary. Many commentators are biased or bored, which leads to them giving the audience the wrong impressions. They prise some skaters to high heavens and put down others without giving an objective assessment (not all of course).
At the last Olympics I watched many of the winter sports for the first time ever and it was the commentators who made the experience for me. A very knowledgeable and enthusiastic commentator made me watch hours of Luge and cheer for athletes I have never heard of in a sport I have never watched before. He explained everything and was very excited about good performance as well as disappointed when someone underperformed. After that I watched figure skating and it was underwhelming. The commentators kept on making mistakes and giving personal opinions that showed clearly who they thought should win. These things do affect the experience of the audience especially if they are not fans already and know the rules and the skaters competing.
If the people who work within the sport and its fans are constantly undermining and attacking it, we can't expect casual viewers to be interested. We are the ones who should be selling it and helping it spread and gain new fans but the only things we ever do is complain and scare new fans away.
Amen to the above.
I think with good commentary, figure skating could actually gain more fans right now without having to change format, costuming or the bunch of other stuff. And if it gains just a tad bit more spotlight, maybe, just maybe it can check against politicking in judging (at some point, no fed wants to be known for it).