Is Grand Prix series ready to downsize to 5 events?

[Arigato]

The ISU simply need to rebrand the sport imo...to make it more popular.

REAL PRIZE MONEY NOT LUNCH MONEY. That would be a start for the sport.

 

[rabidline]

The ISU simply need to change the image of the sport.

Now it's a niche sport that people do not pay much attention to (unless you are in Japan or Russia).

I am a general sports fan, especially winter sports. Each year I have to convince my friends that it is also essential to follow figure skating! It's exciting, very difficult, and nerve wrecking. But people don't get it because they know nothing about figure skating. Because it's not on TV.

That's where the problem lies.

It's a niche sport even in Japan, and it has the same problem- it's not on TV.

 

[FlossieH]

Downsizing would stack the televised, highly anticipated events higher, making them look more spectacular, absorbing the need for the athletes who now would compete later in life and longer to take healing breaks (which are IMPORTANT). Challengers which are 'special interest' events and the JGP take care of the international spread of FS. Grand Prix should always have glamor. It should always be brilliant.

Figure skating is a niche sport and all figure skating competitions are 'special interest' events. Few countries have TV coverage of the GP events. Many do not even have any coverage for the senior World Championships. If you want to downsize to stack the televised events, you would be looking just at a reduced version of the current Olympic programme - i.e. figure skating once every four years.

 

[Arriba627]

I'd like to see it keep 6 events but have one of the events always be a "traveling" event, which is pretty much what is happening now with Rostelecom out. How about holding it in Hungary, Germany, Mexico, U.K., Korea, Switzerland, etc. The logistics would probably be complicated, but it might be fun to shake things up a bit.

 

[DancingCactus]

The Grand Prix Series + Finals is yhe only high class international figure skate event there is, apart from Euros, 4CC and Worlds (+Olympics).
Challengers just aren't on the same level, a lot of top skaters don't bother with them.

So no, I don't think we need less Grand Prix events. Maybe we need more. Treat it as the League as compared to the Cup or something.

 

[NaVi]

IMO, the main problems with figure skating are it's grindy nature which results in a lack of novelty within a season and that the top skaters don't skate against one another enough.

I think the Grand Prix should be replaced with multiple(three or so) separate thematic tournaments with differentiated rulesets where there are regional qualifiers(NA,EU,RU by itself eventually, Asia) and where every major time-zone area(Americas, Europe, Asia) would host at least one tournament final a year. I wrote more about this idea here.

There has been a small temporary hit in quality(or rather "scoring potential") because of the age change rule and the ban but that will resolve itself over time. Skater quality past a certain threshold(say 170 total score for women) is an overrated factor when it comes to figure skating popularity. Parity that builds tension, having contexts where parity has some meaning behind it, and then have some audience affinity for potential medalists matters more than actual quality. Those meta factors matter more than the actual programs in themselves. That being said, some more freedom in program construction might make some of the earlier skated programs more interesting.

The most important factor is accessibility. Here is where higher skater quality could matter if it actually led to better media prominence(better platforms, better time slots). If better skating quality doesn't lead to more prominent media coverage, then it hardly matters for figure skating's popularity. NBC gives practically no more prominence to the GPF than they do to the individual GP events and as a result there has not been a big difference in TV ratings for the regular GP events and the GPF on NBC. I think the GPF doesn't receive more attention from NBC because there is not a year over year guarantee that there will be an American in the events.

Imagine if the ISU could offer NBC one event a year that they could help schedule where all the very top skaters compete in North America and where the US is guaranteed to have competitors at the event in all disciplines.

In person attendance has looked good, but I worry that within a decade that the Grand Prix will be relegated to paid tv in the US if the over-the-air TV ratings get too low. I think the current rights deal with NBC runs through 25-26 season. Skate America viewers on NBC has gone from 976K in 2021 to 760K to 699K to 603K. Skate Canada was at 550K. There may be a bit of a catch-22 where cable tv and streaming options help lower ratings for the over the air NBC broadcast which may eventually cause them to go completely to cable and streaming. That is, increasing access via cable/streaming may end up reducing access by helping to make the over-the-air broadcast less viable.

 

[lariko]

I'd like to see it keep 6 events but have one of the events always be a "traveling" event, which is pretty much what is happening now with Rostelecom out. How about holding it in Hungary, Germany, Mexico, U.K., Korea, Switzerland, etc. The logistics would probably be complicated, but it might be fun to shake things up a bit.

They already do it with the second half of the season competitions though. All 3 of them travel. I mean, skaters already sometimes impacted negatively by travel, when they get a back-to-back and/or compete on a rink they don't know.

This also doesn't address the main issue: skaters should be able to take time off without the events crumbling for the audience. The shift toward later start in seniors longevity naturally shrinks the pool and cultivates professional skating star status. This also means they have to be able to take breaks, since otherwise even less of them will be able to sustain the punishing period of competing non-stop. I respect Levito and Hendrickx for stepping away from the circuit when they need it.

But, logically, there should be less events so everyone had that chance and it wasn't such a big deal.

 

[Arigato]

Skate America viewers on NBC has gone from 976K in 2021 to 760K to 699K to 603K. Skate Canada was at 550K. There may be a bit of a catch-22 where cable tv and streaming options help lower ratings for the over the air NBC broadcast which may eventually cause them to go completely to cable and streaming. That is, increasing access via cable/streaming may end up reducing access by helping to make the over-the-air broadcast less viable.

Get Tara off NBC and see if it helps.

 

[noskates]

Arigato - you are my new hero. Tara makes my teeth itch. She NEVER shuts up. But back to the topic at hand - I find the lack of interest in figure skating compared to years past attributable to the lack of touring shows. The average person who wouldn't maybe turn on the TV to watch a competition might go to see a live show. And that lack of interest crosses the entire sport. Having less competitions would only exacerbate the issue - not fix it! I think as long as there are countries that want to host Grand Prixs and as long as skaters want to skate them, they should leave it alone.

 

[Arigato]

Having less competitions would only exacerbate the issue - not fix it! I think as long as there are countries that want to host Grand Prixs and as long as skaters want to skate them, they should leave it alone.

Exactly.

 

[moonvine]

In person attendance has looked good, but I worry that within a decade that the Grand Prix will be relegated to paid tv in the US if the over-the-air TV ratings get too low. I think the current rights deal with NBC runs through 25-26 season. Skate America viewers on NBC has gone from 976K in 2021 to 760K to 699K to 603K. Skate Canada was at 550K. There may be a bit of a catch-22 where cable tv and streaming options help lower ratings for the over the air NBC broadcast which may eventually cause them to go completely to cable and streaming. That is, increasing access via cable/streaming may end up reducing access by helping to make the over-the-air broadcast less viable.

More and more people are getting rid of cable which naturally is going to reduce tv viewership. (Cable is how most people get over the air broadcast, though some few use outdoor antennas). I'd like to know what streaming + tv viewership is.

 

[Joekaz]

In the US at least, the biggest problem is the lack of faith in the scoring as fair and impartial. Its simply not seen as a real competition. The scoring system doesn't matter if what people's eyes see and what they are told they saw are 2 different things. As Hanyu wrote, technology including AI and sensors should be used so that under rotation, pre rotation and edge calls can be shown to fans on tv so that it isn't an opinion of a tech caller, but a machine showing who should be penalized for what. However the hardest parts would be finding judges with both competence and integrity to judge the more artistic aspects. I don't know if they have been invented yet, unfortunately.

 

[TallyT]

More and more people are getting rid of cable which naturally is going to reduce tv viewership. (Cable is how most people get over the air broadcast, though some few use outdoor antennas). I'd like to know what streaming + tv viewership is.

Well, the numbers that show on the official worldwide stream when live are... not great. That of course is partly because they make it so hard for people in so many countries to find and then watch it.

 

[rabidline]

There has been a small temporary hit in quality(or rather "scoring potential") because of the age change rule and the ban but that will resolve itself over time. Skater quality past a certain threshold(say 170 total score for women) is an overrated factor when it comes to figure skating popularity. Parity that builds tension, having contexts where parity has some meaning behind it, and then have some audience affinity for potential medalists matters more than actual quality. Those meta factors matter more than the actual programs in themselves. That being said, some more freedom in program construction might make some of the earlier skated programs more interesting.

The most important factor is accessibility. Here is where higher skater quality could matter if it actually led to better media prominence(better platforms, better time slots). If better skating quality doesn't lead to more prominent media coverage, then it hardly matters for figure skating's popularity. NBC gives practically no more prominence to the GPF than they do to the individual GP events and as a result there has not been a big difference in TV ratings for the regular GP events and the GPF on NBC. I think the GPF doesn't receive more attention from NBC because there is not a year over year guarantee that there will be an American in the events.

This has been my frustration, because unless you become a super diehard fan of figure skating, and you're active in the very niche community of figure skating fans (a loud minority), nothing in the presentation of figure skating gives an understanding to normal people on WHY certain competitions that happens routinely every year (not Olympics) are more important than others. Even something as simple as whether GPF or Worlds are more important have no clear answer unless you're a super experienced fan. Also why skaters do challengers before GP series, etc. The whole schedule is so fragmented and impossible to follow, and the separate broadcast rights don't help matters.

And I feel it more this season because this is the pre-Olympic season... every media should be hyping up every single competition including the GP series, because every single result mean something, leading up to the Olympics. And not having intriguing competition at the top because we have multiple reigning champions is not an excuse- figure skating have milked rivalries that are actually not that competitive until its last drop in the past.

So now I think it's a niche audience, who are attached to the figure skaters for niche reasons. There are moments where it does go viral, but if people who are interested from that virality can't access the sport (whether because of expensive tickets and travel costs or just plain not able to find it on TV / streaming they can afford), it doesn't translate to affinity. And the interest remains because of those niche things.

 

[Magill]

I'd rather say unless you're a diehard fan, you do not understand why winners are winning - and this is a problem for any sport. (Actually, even if you are a diehard fan, sometimes you do not understand it, either, which does not make it much better ).

As for GPs downsizing, with all respect due, if it happens, it will be for financial reasons and not for skating quality or anything like it. And if it proves necessary to cut down on the number of GPs for financial reasons, it will be done. Yet it will hardly make the sport any more popular, rather to the contrary, it will contribute to its further downsize and getting even less attention unless changes are introduced in the areas where they matter.

 

[AnAlbanyExpression]

Maybe it is because I come from a country where figure skating barely has a media presence at all (except when our dude Javier Fernández was around), but to me the idea that it can aspire to be anything other than a niche sport seems very far-fetched.

I don't know exactly what the best way to organize the sport is, but I don't think downsizing the GP would do much good. I think that the format where skaters only take part in 1-2 competitions for the entire series might make it hard to follow or know what's going on for casual viewers, but that is also the nature of the sport. I don't know that there is one "easy trick" that the ISU can adopt that would grow the popularity of skating (even though I would like there to be).

 

[JustSomeGuy]

I would just like to take this moment to remind everybody of the days when skaters could get a 3rd Grand Prix assignment (with no points awarded) because there literally were not enough skaters to fill all the grand prix events otherwise, and skaters even managed to qualify for the final with only a single assignment.

If  that wasn't suffient reason to reduce the number of events, then one poor event in  one discipline isn't sufficient reason.

Honestly, I sometimes think a few of the newer fans might benefit from going back an rewatching some of the historic events from a few decades ago. In fact, I believe there is even a thread somewhere on this site linking to videos that might help with that.

 

[pesto]

It's always gonna be niche, but how niche?

I don't think there is a problem with the number of GPs / depth of field. Even the lowest competitors are pretty watchable in most events, but having a bit of a range, where you can see variation in quality is no bad thing.

And for me, I really like the tight qualification for GPF. It's all thriller, no filler, and makes the event watchable in its entirety, with good integration of the junior category. I think, with more seniors, many people would skip the juniors.

But, ISU does a really rubbish job at promotion. We're mid-series. It should be front and centre on the ISU homepage - where it's happening, who is competing, where to watch it, why it matters, how qualification works...

They've just done a revamp of the ISU site - which is pretty poor planning. It should have been ready to go, and bugs ironed out, before the start of their major season. It's pretty much as opaque and unengaging as ever. If you know what you're looking for, maybe you can find it, but any casual fan starting to take an interest due to success of a local hero, or watching the Olympics and thinking "ooh, I like this..." is likely to be put off.

 

[rabidline]

I'm asking about understanding the context why it's important that the winners are winning and why it's also important that others didn't win. You know, like all sports with actual stakes.

For example, why is it more important right now that Wakaba Higuchi (JPN) skates clean and land her jumps and qualify for GP Final, while Loena Hendrickx (BEL) can withdraw from both her GP series assignments and not qualify for GP Final and still not be worried?

Why is it more important for Kazuki Tomono (JPN) to land all his jumps and skate clean compared to Deniss Vasiljevs (LAT), Jason Brown (USA) and Boyang Jin (CHN)?

Why does Isabeau Levito (USA) withdrawing from her second GP assignment, after she won bronze in her first GP assignment, concerning?

The argument tends to fall down to "oh so and so are judges/fed/ISU favorite and so and so are not the favorites" or "oh so and so are overscored and so and so are underscored" but I see very few information giving me context on why certain results are important for certain skaters.

 

[Magill]

Maybe it is because I come from a country where figure skating barely has a media presence at all (except when our dude Javier Fernández was around), but to me the idea that it can aspire to be anything other than a niche sport seems very far-fetched.

I don't know exactly what the best way to organize the sport is, but I don't think downsizing the GP would do much good. I think that the format where skaters only take part in 1-2 competitions for the entire series might make it hard to follow or know what's going on for casual viewers, but that is also the nature of the sport. I don't know that there is one "easy trick" that the ISU can adopt that would grow the popularity of skating (even though I would like there to be).

I gather it might not be true for Spain - or some other countries, and for obvious reasons - but, as hard as it might be to imagine today - FS used to be quite a mainstream and popular winter sport in many places with a slightly colder climate .
When I was a child, "everybody" was watching it. Now they don't anymore. So, yes, it seems to have lost its mojo somewhere along the way. That's why it is so desperate in its eternal attempts to regain it as it still remembers better times were possible unlike these other small niche sports which just never were bigger...