S
SkateFan4Life
Guest
Here's a link to the Ice Channel website.....enjoy!
"Ice Channel, Where Are You?"
http://www.theicechannel.com/
"Ice Channel, Where Are You?"
http://www.theicechannel.com/
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2004
I feel like they should merge with hearst and make a lifetime sports network... I'm not sure an ice skating only network would have a large enough niche. Wouldnt it be nice to have a figure skating, gymnastics and our other favorite sports all together on one network.
Lifetime is already the highest rated cable network, and their sister stations like lifetime real women and lifetime movie network sustain themselves with quality programming too. Seems like sports is the natural next step for the organization to take.
Lifetime is already the highest rated cable network, and their sister stations like lifetime real women and lifetime movie network sustain themselves with quality programming too. Seems like sports is the natural next step for the organization to take.
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
Erm, I can do without biography movies and an American Idol for skaters program.....I just wanna see skating!
I sort of concur with one of the previous posters that wonders if an "all ice skating" channel could work. As for me, I'd love to see a "Winter Sports Channel" that would show present and past great proformances along the lines of ESPN sports classics network. I'd love to see Eric Hyden and Bonnie Blair skate their Olympic and Worlds Championships again. I'd also think it would be great to be able to see the greats from skiing, luge and bobsled (two really exciting sports), a curling match or 12 would encourage some Canadian fans, and maybe even educate us as to why it's such a popular sport up north, and all sorts of other winter sports events like snowboarding and snowsailing.
It would certainly keep the programming fresher, since there is a limited amout of preserved media about or of FS. It would certainly be nice to have a channel for the whole family that would feature figure skating on a regular basis throughout the year, though. Just some ramblings, your sk8m8 mark
It would certainly keep the programming fresher, since there is a limited amout of preserved media about or of FS. It would certainly be nice to have a channel for the whole family that would feature figure skating on a regular basis throughout the year, though. Just some ramblings, your sk8m8 mark
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2003
- Country
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Thank you for that! 
S
SkateFan4Life
Guest
sk8m8 said:
I beg to differ. There are TONS of excellent, preserved footage of figure skating competitions - US, Canadians, Europeans, Worlds, Olympics, you name it. I would LOVE to see Peggy Fleming compete and win her five US titles, Dick Button win his two OGMs, etc.
IMHO, one evening a week should be reserved for nothing but "blasts from the past" - competitive footage. Bring on the popcorn and VCRs!
S
SkateFan4Life
Guest
PrincessLeppard said:
Amen to that! I've watched enough of those "up close and personal" bios to last a lifetime. Let's just see the skating!!
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2004
Possible Ice Channel Programming...
With so much footage available, the solution is obvious - clip shows! I have a few suggestions:
It might be fun to have a "you make the call" show based on contested decisions in FS history. Take "The Battle of the Brians" or some other such footage, which a panel of skating luminaries views and discusses. (It would be helpful if they were able to do so with wit and some degree of charm) Then the studio audience votes on it, or the home viewers could vote by phone.
Or "One Score", in which a particular piece of music is explored - oh, say "Don Quixote" or "Tosca", or perhaps the special five-parter featuring "Swan Lake" :sheesh: - and different performances to the same piece of music are shown and discussed. Again, the audience could vote for their favorites.
"Brilliant Skaters You've Never Seen" - no synopsis necessary.
This one wasn't my idea, but I'm sure we'd all get some guilty pleasure out of watching "The Rusty Hanger Awards" - quick, who would be skating's equivalent to Joan and Melissa Rivers? Is Toller Cranston busy?
Who says you can't fill 24 hours with figure skating programming?
Rave
With so much footage available, the solution is obvious - clip shows! I have a few suggestions:
It might be fun to have a "you make the call" show based on contested decisions in FS history. Take "The Battle of the Brians" or some other such footage, which a panel of skating luminaries views and discusses. (It would be helpful if they were able to do so with wit and some degree of charm) Then the studio audience votes on it, or the home viewers could vote by phone.
Or "One Score", in which a particular piece of music is explored - oh, say "Don Quixote" or "Tosca", or perhaps the special five-parter featuring "Swan Lake" :sheesh: - and different performances to the same piece of music are shown and discussed. Again, the audience could vote for their favorites.
"Brilliant Skaters You've Never Seen" - no synopsis necessary.
This one wasn't my idea, but I'm sure we'd all get some guilty pleasure out of watching "The Rusty Hanger Awards" - quick, who would be skating's equivalent to Joan and Melissa Rivers? Is Toller Cranston busy?
Who says you can't fill 24 hours with figure skating programming?
Rave
You know, I just don't think there's a big enough audience. I don't see anybody other than the figure skating cult watching this channel on a regular basis. If anything it might end up being on digital cable or PPV...I don't think it would make basic cable. Plus there is plenty of coverage on other channels, like ESPN. Of course the intense fan will argue that it is not enough coverage, which is fine, but however much popularity may be declining, it's still pretty mainstream.The ice channel should try to see if it can get these lower-level competitions televised (only the senior-level comps are ever shown).
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2003
I would love to see competitions on PPV. It would save me a lot of money from travelling to far away venues.
Joe
Joe
...and the ice channel has the money to buy all the rights from ABC, NBC, PBS, CBS, TBS, CBC, ISU, USFSA, RFSA, Private collections,etc... to show all these events?
I've worked in television before and there is a sad rule of thumb.....what may be useless to you will go up 10X its normal asking price for someone who does want it; a sorry fact of life, but a true one
S
SkateFan4Life
Guest
sk8m8 said:
Good points. Corporate sponsors, where are you? Maybe all of the corporations that sponsor the US Nationals can jump in and help finance the Ice Channel. OK, wishful thinking!
It's too bad that Bill Gates and/or Donald Trump aren't figure skating fanatics!
S
SkateFan4Life
Guest
Red Dog said:
Good points. Perhaps the big figure skating craze of the mid-1990s is over forever. There are only so many figure skating fans out there to sustain an all-figure skating television channel, and most of us are very busy with our lives, careers, and families and simply do not have the time to sit in front of the TV to watch these programs.
Sandra Bezic made a comment in jest a few years ago - to paraphrase - "We need a scandal every five years or so to sustain high interest in our sport." :sheesh:
