2026 U.S. Nationals Senior Pairs Short Program

[BlissfulSynergy]

Not everyone has the buffering issues. I had IceNetwork. I also watched in the before the whack era. Do you think you will get better from ABC or CBS? I don’t think so. Skating is not getting the following it used to have, and we could easily be back to barely getting anything.

As to commercials. They are paying for me to see the Juniors, and all the flights of skating.

I used to dwell on the negative. Now I look for the positive. But if you want to dwell on the negative, that’s your prerogative.

Again, you are misunderstanding. I said nothing about ABC or CBS. I'm glad you're pleased with your NBC USA cable coverage. I do not think any major network broadcaster has ever covered figure skating in the way it deserves to be covered. But you being happy with what you have of figure skating coverage is a good thing, for you.

I am personally not happy with my paid Peacock streaming service forcing me to watch the mishmash coverage they put out yesterday, the majority of it interspersed with disruptive ads. I'm sure I'm not alone in having to recover from the disjointed messiness we were subjected to yesterday, when we should have received the option of watching uninterrupted streaming of ice dance RD and men's sp. The NBC USA coverage could have been kept up as a separate option for Peacock subscribers, like they used to offer us. Now, they are giving us no choice. If we want to see all the skating at U.S. Nationals, we are forced to watch a schizophrenic, cobbled together mess with constant commercial breaks, and poor commentary.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

One comment (actually two, I guess) about the pairs. I wish wish wish Danny could find/or could have found a partner that was up to his level in skating skills. It makes me so sad to see competition after competition where it all looks good until Ellie is down on the ice. Nothing personal against her, but it has certainly held them back. I feel bad for Danny as I think he's one of the best pairs men. Same could be said for Spencer. You can say lack of training but he didn't have a problem and she could have trained her jumps without him! Not a good excuse.

It's human nature to feel very frustrated, particularly if you truly care about a team. If you only care about Danny, please understand that he supports and cares very much about his partner, Ellie Kam. IMO, Ellie has been a great partner for Danny at this stage of his career. They have a gorgeous, sychronous movement quality that many other teams admire and have tried to emulate. Their choreographer, Marie-France, saw their exceptional qualities and enhanced those qualities further with the wonderful choreography she has created for them.

Ellie & Danny are one of the U.S. pairs discipline's top two teams for good reasons! Why overlook their exquisite elements beyond the sbs jumps and throws? They are world-class on their other elements and in their smooth movement style. I too get frustrated to see Ellie not landing jumps and throws when she clearly can and has. I gained some insight from the pairs practice commentary yesterday when Tarah Kayne said how overwhelming and intense the feeling was in the arena during the short program. Some skaters are able to thrive under that nervous pressure. Others may have more difficulty learning how to manage those feelings and competition pressures.

Please understand that Ellie's skating skills are at Danny's level. 'Skating skills' refers to edge control and blade mastery. Learning how to compete physically difficult jumps and throws during the intense heat of competition is a different thing altogether. Nothing to do with skating skills. More to do with managing relaxation skills under pressure. When athletes tighten up under pressure, they are less able to perform physical feats they may easily complete in training practices. Ellie also learned triple elements while under the intense spotlight of her initial pairing with Danny, as she partnered with him after about a year or so as a little known junior pairs skater who had recently switched from singles. Ellie had to work hard to match Danny's confidence and experience level, while continuing to learn and grow her pairs elements. That's not easy. But she has met the challenge in more ways than any of us on the outside of their partnership could ever know. Despite their seeming 'fragility' and sensitive emotions, both Audrey and Ellie are tough pairs ladies. No one sitting in judgment could match what either of these young women have accomplished as figure skaters.

I am sending positive vibrations to Ellie and to Danny to persevere and to succeed. I wish all the athletes well in their quest to excel and to achieve their skating dreams.

 

[Janice4th]

Again, you are misunderstanding. I said nothing about ABC or CBS. I'm glad you're pleased with your NBC USA cable coverage. I do not think any major network broadcaster has ever covered figure skating in the way it deserves to be covered. But you being happy with what you have of figure skating coverage is a good thing, for you.

I am personally not happy with my paid Peacock streaming service forcing me to watch the mishmash coverage they put out yesterday, the majority of it interspersed with disruptive ads. I'm sure I'm not alone in having to recover from the disjointed messiness we were subjected to yesterday, when we should have received the

option of watching uninterrupted streaming of ice dance RD and men's sp. The NBC USA coverage could have been kept up as a separate option for Peacock subscribers, like they used to offer us. Now, they are giving us no choice. If we want to see all the skating at U.S. Nationals, we are forced to watch a schizophrenic, cobbled together mess with constant commercial breaks, and poor commentary.

Like most streaming platforms, Peacock is losing money. I see this as a cost cutting effort to reduce costs.
As to the chatter - I blame the producers. They seem to be afraid of a little silence.

 

[moonvine]

Katie’s on the podium!
Oh whoops there are 4 pairs in this warm up group never mind.

 

[moonvine]

Again, you are misunderstanding. I said nothing about ABC or CBS. I'm glad you're pleased with your NBC USA cable coverage. I do not think any major network broadcaster has ever covered figure skating in the way it deserves to be covered. But you being happy with what you have of figure skating coverage is a good thing, for you.

I am personally not happy with my paid Peacock streaming service forcing me to watch the mishmash coverage they put out yesterday, the majority of it interspersed with disruptive ads. I'm sure I'm not alone in having to recover from the disjointed messiness we were subjected to yesterday, when we should have received the option of watching uninterrupted streaming of ice dance RD and men's sp. The NBC USA coverage could have been kept up as a separate option for Peacock subscribers, like they used to offer us. Now, they are giving us no choice. If we want to see all the skating at U.S. Nationals, we are forced to watch a schizophrenic, cobbled together mess with constant commercial breaks, and poor commentary.

We need to complain to USFS/Peacock.

 

[moonvine]

Like most streaming platforms, Peacock is losing money. I see this as a cost cutting effort to reduce costs.
As to the chatter - I blame the producers. They seem to be afraid of a little silence.

Their prices have gone up a lot. All streaming services have. Some are eventually going to fail.
I loved Ice Network and NBC Sports Gold wasn’t bad.

 

[Joan1940]

LOL! You are fine with the constant buffering, ads, tech glitches, and inept camera coverage. Okay. I remember not so long ago being able to see the full World feeds of every discipline on Peacock without disruptive ads and inane commentary!

I remember the good old bad old days of IceNetwork, where we got more dedicated in-depth fs coverage. I remember falling in love with figure skating during the days of Peggy Fleming, Janet Lynn, Toller Cranston, John Curry, Tai Babilonia & Randy Gardner, et al. I remember a lot, since I'm that old, like the times before the Internet and the good ol' Wide World of Sports, an idea that dear old departed Dick Button had, btw! While there are no perfect commentators, Dick Button is at the top of my list for the depth and breadth of his historic fs and cultural knowledge, his pithy sayings, and his genuine passion for the sport. Sure, a lot of skaters were chacked back-in-the-day on tv. But in the late 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, I had the chance to tape coverage for re-viewing and archiving. Being able to save and archive broadcasts is more technologically complicated today. We live in a 'cloud storage' era now where everything is dumbed-down, over-manufactured, and inanely hyped to the nth degree. That sadly extends to this awful fs coverage in the U.S., and to the over-commercialized Olympics. The vibe was very different when I saw my first Olympics on color tv in 1968.

The fs coverage we get now is rather disparate, despite during the season having multiple viewing options, but a lot of it is pay-per-view so not feasible. Only rare moments of genuine down-to-earth gems and uplift are scattered here and there, so brief it's easy to miss or overlook. I appreciate the athletes (which is why I continue watching), but there's no one with enough clout, caring, or expertise to cover figure skating the way it deserves to be covered, and the way true fans deserve to see it covered.

You are apparently one of those fans used to being treated poorly, thus overly thankful for NBC/Peacock's mindless, schizophrenic coverage. Enjoy your peanuts amidst endless ads and dumbed-down blather.

I am with you as I go back even further to the Carol Heiss era.

 

[Joan1940]

Again, you are misunderstanding. I said nothing about ABC or CBS. I'm glad you're pleased with your NBC USA cable coverage. I do not think any major network broadcaster has ever covered figure skating in the way it deserves to be covered. But you being happy with what you have of figure skating coverage is a good thing, for you.

I am personally not happy with my paid Peacock streaming service forcing me to watch the mishmash coverage they put out yesterday, the majority of it interspersed with disruptive ads. I'm sure I'm not alone in having to recover from the disjointed messiness we were subjected to yesterday, when we should have received the option of watching uninterrupted streaming of ice dance RD and men's sp. The NBC USA coverage could have been kept up as a separate option for Peacock subscribers, like they used to offer us. Now, they are giving us no choice. If we want to see all the skating at U.S. Nationals, we are forced to watch a schizophrenic, cobbled together mess with constant commercial breaks, and poor commentary.

I miss the Olympic channel.NBC owning Peacock we don't have much of a choice

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Katie’s on the podium!
Oh whoops there are 4 pairs in this warm up group never mind.

Yep! You may have spoken too soon, but Katie & Daniil are, indeed, on the podium! Bronze medal for our Irvine lovelies. ️

 

[Skater Boy]

Their prices have gone up a lot. All streaming services have. Some are eventually going to fail.
I loved Ice Network and NBC Sports Gold wasn’t bad.

People focus! This about pairs skating, a nationaltitle and olympic berths go look elsewhere if you want to whine about how you watch it. Well I wonder what the UFS is going to do now picking out the pairs team going to Italy. Like it or not Ellie and Danny have one spot it appears in the absence of our national champions who aren't eleigible. HOnestly considering how weak Canada is they might do okay in the eam event. And a top five spot is not impossible. even without E/M.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

People focus! This about pairs skating, a nationaltitle and olympic berths go look elsewhere if you want to whine about how you watch it. Well I wonder what the UFS is going to do now picking out the pairs team going to Italy. Like it or not Ellie and Danny have one spot it appears in the absence of our national champions who aren't eleigible. HOnestly considering how weak Canada is they might do okay in the eam event. And a top five spot is not impossible. even without E/M.

Heads-up @Skater Boy, this is about U.S. pairs figure skating, not a venue for you to throw darts at Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, nor at other posters who didn't enjoy how the pairs short program and other event coverage was mangled by NBC/ Peacock.

 

[TontoK]

I'm a glass-half-full sort of guy. Sure, I have my gripes about the coverage.

But I'm also old enough to remember when we'd never get to see any of these pairs free performances outside of the medalists - if we even got to see all of them. And short programs? Forget about it.

When you're old enough to recall scouring that little section of the Sports section in the paper... the place where they put the baseball box scores... to see some results... well, a debate about Tara and Johnny over some other commentators seems a bit silly. A "first world problem" as the hipsters like to say.

However, we don't live in the stone age anymore, and I'd like an option that filters out commentators altogether. Maybe even a toggle switch to filter them during the performance, but you can flip them back on for the analysis afterwards if you want.

Also, it helps to remember who you are, and what is the job of the NBC panelists. You're a serious fan of the sport. You spend part of your time on an online chatboard, dissecting underrotations and tenths of a point of PCS. You're NOT the target market for Tara and Johnny. Their job is to hook that suburban mom who watches skating by accident when she flips through the channels. Keep her hanging on... mention Ilia every hour so she'll mention his athletic exploits to her husband so they'll watch tomorrow... hype the Chock and Bates love story... gush about the "sisterhood" of the women.

Get serious, y'all. They're have segments explaining an axel jump. Tara and Johnny are not there for you.

 

[TontoK]

Their prices have gone up a lot. All streaming services have. Some are eventually going to fail.
I loved Ice Network and NBC Sports Gold wasn’t bad.

Not skating related, but relevant to the pricing discussions. I enjoy "non-traditional" meaning "Not US Network"... entertainment. We have Amazon Prime, and I keep an eye on the specials they run throughout the year. PBS Documentaries for 1.99 for two months... that sort of thing. And I sign up for those and use my reminder on my phone to cancel the subscription just before the regular ridiculous price kicks in. There are enough of those promotions to let me gorge on shows I enjoy, and I then wait until the next promotion. Between Black Friday, and Amazon Prime Day and a few others sprinkled in, I'm good most of the year.

 

[withwings]

For a while, every single American Pairs team that posted a higher score than them would have their scores brought up. "X team scored Y at Loosely Scored Senior B, they would have gotten the spot at Beijing!" Those were unfair comparisons when those teams were not competing under the same pressure or the same judging standards. And USFS was never brought up in those comparisons, it was always Shin/Nagy and their scores.

And they didn't lose the spot at the Olympics, it was a chance to earn the third spot. There's no guarantee that the other teams would have done it.

one could not say it better

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I'm a glass-half-full sort of guy.

LOL! Another go-along to get along figure skating fan. Everybody can enjoy having whatever they have of coverage. But please understand that I am upset about not having the full streaming feed of figure skating coverage that I pay for. They could give us the full World feed streaming tiles, like they have done previously. And also post the optional NBC USA coverage as a bonus the way they used to do. This season, I guess because of the Olympics, they want to hold die-hard fans hostage to their time-consuming ads and clueless, ineffective coverage.

When you speak about suburban moms, sure they have the dumbed down coverage for a general audience. That's different from what I'm talking about. Anyone watching on television, what you see is what you get, and that's fine. They can continue to provide broadcast tv coverage. What I am asking for is the full World feed streaming coverage that I pay for. Once again, what you are talking about from decades and decades ago is an interesting conversation but it's different from what I'm speaking of. I'd love to engage with that conversation because the evolution of figure skating coverage is truly fascinating.

Back-in-the-day we had Dick Button to help steer the networks in their coverage of figure skating. He taught an entire generation of fans. Obviously, he was not perfect, but he loved the sport and he entertained fans and made us fall in love with skating and with the skaters. Dick Button was a gem. He was the bridge between figure skating's past and its future. He didn't perhaps explain everything completely clearly, but he offered a great primer into understanding the sport. I was encouraged to seek out more knowledge and greater viewing opportunities. Yes, fs coverage was sparse until the 1990s boom. In any case, in the old days of limited televised coverage, we didn't really know what we were missing, until we eventually realized how much we were missing. I wonder if coverage of old events was filmed in full and is still available in figure skating or broadcast television museum archives.

Yes, it's difficult to cover figure skating in all its vast richness and detail. But the problem has always been that those doing the broadcasting and those in charge of running the sport do not appreciate what the sport is about, nor do they understand its history. Terry Gannon has probably forgotten everything he learned from Dick and Peggy. I like Tara/ Johnny's shtick and their friendship. But they are at their best doing the dog shows and the Kentucky Derby. And likely this weird reality show they keep advertising that I'm not going to watch! T&J remember their era and they know what it's like to compete, but neither have a sense of the sport's history the way Uncle Dick had and could impart to audiences for a broader understanding of what we witness in-the-moment at events. I know it's difficult to cover figure skating in-depth, but there are ways to do a better job, starting with better and less ridiculous camera coverage. And also, stop with the over-hype of only the very top and most popular skaters. There are a lot of interesting stories that go untold. We could do with less of the paint-by-numbers, disruptive, mangled, trivialized coverage.

I guess being there in the arena at an event like this is the best way to view it and to soak in more of the ambiance and the excitement of the history unfolding.

The men's event was absolutely fascinating and historic. They totally botched the coverage.

 

[slider11]

I particulary miss the KnC coverage that Peacock omitted. That time gives such insight to the skaters personality and coach relationship.

 

[moonvine]

LOL! Another go-along to get along figure skating fan. Everybody can enjoy having whatever they have of coverage. But please understand that I am upset about not having the full streaming feed of figure skating coverage that I pay for. They could give us the full World feed streaming tiles, like they have done previously. And also post the optional NBC USA coverage as a bonus the way they used to do. This season, I guess because of the Olympics, they want to hold die-hard fans hostage to their time-consuming ads and clueless, ineffective coverage.

When you speak about suburban moms, sure they have the dumbed down coverage for a general audience. That's different from what I'm talking about. Anyone watching on television, what you see is what you get, and that's fine. They can continue to provide broadcast tv coverage. What I am asking for is the full World feed streaming coverage that I pay for. Once again, what you are talking about from decades and decades ago is an interesting conversation but it's different from what I'm speaking of. I'd love to engage with that conversation because the evolution of figure skating coverage is truly fascinating.

Back-in-the-day we had Dick Button to help steer the networks in their coverage of figure skating. He taught an entire generation of fans. Obviously, he was not perfect, but he loved the sport and he entertained fans and made us fall in love with skating and with the skaters. Dick Button was a gem. He was the bridge between figure skating's past and its future. He didn't perhaps explain everything completely clearly, but he offered a great primer into understanding the sport. I was encouraged to seek out more knowledge and greater viewing opportunities. Yes, fs coverage was sparse until the 1990s boom. In any case, in the old days of limited televised coverage, we didn't really know what we were missing, until we eventually realized how much we were missing. I wonder if coverage of old events was filmed in full and is still available in figure skating or broadcast television museum archives.

Yes, it's difficult to cover figure skating in all its vast richness and detail. But the problem has always been that those doing the broadcasting and those in charge of running the sport do not appreciate what the sport is about, nor do they understand its history. Terry Gannon has probably forgotten everything he learned from Dick and Peggy. I like Tara/ Johnny's shtick and their friendship. But they are at their best doing the dog shows and the Kentucky Derby. And likely this weird reality show they keep advertising that I'm not going to watch! T&J remember their era and they know what it's like to compete, but neither have a sense of the sport's history the way Uncle Dick had and could impart to audiences for a broader understanding of what we witness in-the-moment at events. I know it's difficult to cover figure skating in-depth, but there are ways to do a better job, starting with better and less ridiculous camera coverage. And also, stop with the over-hype of only the very top and most popular skaters. There are a lot of interesting stories that go untold. We could do with less of the paint-by-numbers, disruptive, mangled, trivialized coverage.

I guess being there in the arena at an event like this is the best way to view it and to soak in more of the ambiance and the excitement of the history unfolding.

The men's event was absolutely fascinating and historic. They totally botched the coverage.

We need to be contacting USFS/Peacock. And why was there a World feed if no world coverage?

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

We need to be contacting USFS/Peacock. And why was there a World feed if no world coverage?

I believe 'world feed' refers to universal or global streaming feed of an event, not to the World championships event.

In any case, there's a full streaming event feed with Ben and Ashley. That feed exists, despite the fact they are not letting us have access to it in its entirety. We only get to see the first groups via that feed, and then we are interrupted by the NNC USA coverage.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

See below the U.S. pairs short program press conference. A few interesting questions and responses. I appreciate how Ellie acknowledged her errors in a straightforward, upbeat way. She and Danny are a true team through and through in how they trust each other, lift each other up through tense times, and believe in each other and in their partnership.

Misha & Alisa responded thoughtfully about their programs and answered questions re the state of Alisa's citizenship quest. Audrey and Balazs responded to a question about what it was like working with Tessa Virtue.

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There's also a press conference up with USfigsk CEO, along with Justin Dillon, head of Athlete Development, entitled 'state of the sport.' They discuss the event in St. Louis, the Olympic team, how selections were made and how athletes were informed. There were specific questions about Jason, Max, and the citizenship dilemma of Alisa/Misha, etc.

 

[moonvine]

I believe 'world feed' refers to universal or global streaming feed of an event, not to the World championships event.

In any case, there's a full streaming event feed with Ben and Ashley. That feed exists, despite the fact they are not letting us have access to it in its entirety. We only get to see the first groups via that feed, and then we are interrupted by the NNC USA coverage.

I don’t think you understand my comment (or I was being unclear, which is quite likely). I didn’t mean a feed for the World Championship event.
I meant there is a feed for the World which no one seems to know how to access. The first time I know Ashley commentated for the World feed, which was in San Jose, which no one, including Ashley, knew how to access. Yet someone was paying her, I assume, I doubt she does it for free.

I know this event was broadcast in Japan with Japanese commentary. Where was the world feed with Ben/Ashley commentary? It had to be somewhere?