ISU Announces 2024-25 Challenger Series 2024/25

[Jumping_Bean]

Perhaps someone can shed light on ISU's reasoning here.

Not sure this is the ISU's reasoning. Pretty sure the option the US is offering for next season is not actually supposed to be possible (The communication dealing with the requirements for applications states "must include entries in at least 3 disciplines of the Figure Skating Branch"), so if Canada had applied, I doubt that they wouldn't have taken Canada's offer of a "regular" Challenger (with pairs, dance, and both singles disciplines) instead. Probably only agreed to the proposal from the USA because the same communication also states that at least one Challenger has to be in the USA or Canada.

Some federations just don't apply to host Challengers (even if they have a Senior B that could be turned into a Challenger like Asian Open), and some don't want to host a Challenger each season, especially if they host a GP as well (see Finlandia Trophy).

Other federations (even smaller ones) are happy to host multiple high-profile (and expensive) competitions like France (who will be hosting a GP, a Challenger, a JGP and the (J)GPF) - Maybe a difference in how funding is allocated by the state and local governments to sports events?

The ISU itself only offers CHF 20,000 to support the organisers, which is not all that much, and this contribution is even only paid out after the competition has been held.

 

[4everchan]

Not sure this is the ISU's reasoning. Pretty sure the option the US is offering for next season is not actually supposed to be possible (The communication dealing with the requirements for applications states "must include entries in at least 3 disciplines of the Figure Skating Branch"), so if Canada had applied, I doubt that they wouldn't have taken Canada's offer of a "regular" Challenger (with pairs, dance, and both singles disciplines) instead. Probably only agreed to the proposal from the USA because the same communication also states that at least one Challenger has to be in the USA or Canada.

Some federations just don't apply to host Challengers (even if they have a Senior B that could be turned into a Challenger like Asian Open), and some don't want to host a Challenger each season, especially if they host a GP as well (see Finlandia Trophy).

Other federations (even smaller ones) are happy to host multiple high-profile (and expensive) competitions like France (who will be hosting a GP, a Challenger, a JGP and the (J)GPF) - Maybe a difference in how funding is allocated by the state and local governments to sports events?

The ISU itself only offers CHF 20,000 to support the organisers, which is not all that much, and this contribution is even only paid out after the competition has been held.

This is probably all true and very sensible but if the ISU cared to make this better, they would help some feds to secure competitions in an equitable manner for all skaters....

Give them more money....

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Give them more money....

That's easier said than done when the ISU is making losses each year

Spending even more is not likely to make the financial advisors happy, especially when there's no direct money to be made from the additional investments (Challengers don't really bring in additional advertising and broadcasting money for the ISU, as they are not picked up by broadcasting companies).

 

[surimi]

But ISU is IMO making losses through their own approach, and my impression is that it just keeps going downhill each year.
- If events are held in poorly accessible locations, they can expect little revenue from the few lucky enough to live nearby, plus those who are willing to spend a full day getting there, and another getting back.
- If events are held at venues with ridiculous ticket prices, they can expect little participation as well, unless huge stars that draw crowds are competing there.
- If streams and videos are geoblocked and monetized, they can expect a loss as many will just give up. Like I gave up on watching 4CC as I'm too lazy to set up an ad blocker for Opera that I only use for accessing ISU channel's geoblocked stuff when absolutely necessary. I suffered through the numerous commercials only for Sota, then gave up on watching the event for good. I never even found out which sh*tty channel bought the 4CC rights in my country this year as noone broadcasted it on linear channels, and I cannot be bothered to investigate on Eurosport's website. I assume it was a loss for both ISU and that unknown channel in the end. One can hardly become a fan of what one cannot see, or what's difficult to see.
- If the only ones able to score very nice points & move high in the rankings are European skaters, that's also on ISU. Maybe they should try harder with their marketing strategy for Asia and N/A. It's ridiculous to imagine that this year, all the big stars will be going head to head in a measly 3 or so Challengers before the GP series starts. Who's going to be ready in early August for their US singles event? Hardly anyone, I imagine. Who's going to come to Hungary and all the events after it? Mostly middle of the pack European skaters with 1 or no GP, which means their victories would be worth less than a 4th place in a star-packed Nebelhorn. I'm just guessing there, but the timing of CS is especially unfortunate this year, benefitting neither the skaters (I predict the first 3 post-US Challengers are going to be a blood bath), nor the audience (stars not spread out - audience participation in the later events will suffer, I think). And that's also on the ISU.
I get that costs for travel and rinks are rising, and money from potential organizers is drying up due to global economy issues, but what ISU are doing currently is clearly not working, and IMO is just making the problem worse.

 

[Ivana]

But ISU is IMO making losses through their own approach, and my impression is that it just keeps going downhill each year.
- If events are held in poorly accessible locations, they can expect little revenue from the few lucky enough to live nearby, plus those who are willing to spend a full day getting there, and another getting back.
- If events are held at venues with ridiculous ticket prices, they can expect little participation as well, unless huge stars that draw crowds are competing there.
- If streams and videos are geoblocked and monetized, they can expect a loss as many will just give up. Like I gave up on watching 4CC as I'm too lazy to set up an ad blocker for Opera that I only use for accessing ISU channel's geoblocked stuff when absolutely necessary. I suffered through the numerous commercials only for Sota, then gave up on watching the event for good. I never even found out which sh*tty channel bought the 4CC rights in my country this year as noone broadcasted it on linear channels, and I cannot be bothered to investigate on Eurosport's website. I assume it was a loss for both ISU and that unknown channel in the end. One can hardly become a fan of what one cannot see, or what's difficult to see.
- If the only ones able to score very nice points & move high in the rankings are European skaters, that's also on ISU. Maybe they should try harder with their marketing strategy for Asia and N/A. It's ridiculous to imagine that this year, all the big stars will be going head to head in a measly 3 or so Challengers before the GP series starts. Who's going to be ready in early August for their US singles event? Hardly anyone, I imagine. Who's going to come to Hungary and all the events after it? Mostly middle of the pack European skaters with 1 or no GP, which means their victories would be worth less than a 4th place in a star-packed Nebelhorn. I'm just guessing there, but the timing of CS is especially unfortunate this year, benefitting neither the skaters (I predict the first 3 post-US Challengers are going to be a blood bath), nor the audience (stars not spread out - audience participation in the later events will suffer, I think). And that's also on the ISU.
I get that costs for travel and rinks are rising, and money from potential organizers is drying up due to global economy issues, but what ISU are doing currently is clearly not working, and IMO is just making the problem worse.

This, million times this, is ISU issue. Their strategy how they go around building and promoting the sport is completely wrong IMO. ISU Awards are not going to save the sport, you need to allow the audience to watch the competitions and the skaters to have better access to competitions.

When ISU is selling the TV rights they do not care which broadcaster gets them and what is the quality of the broadcast going to be. For my area they sold them to new broadcaster this year and I can tell the quality and accessibility of the sport went downhill, Grand Prix series (nothing), EC (something in between the other sports), 4CC (nothing) and WC (same as EC) + no online stream that you can access and we were geoblocked from the ISU channel even for events the broadcaster was not showing at all. With previous broadcaster all events were accessible online + around 50% shown on live TV as well, when they intended to skip events (4CC or Asian GP's) geoblock on ISU channel was removed. How they want to bring in new audience if they can't view the sport is beyond me.

The Challenger series is rather a group of odd events with skaters unevenly distributed, then a real series. This shows up in the list, like the North America events are a joke, the timing is off, the singles event + pairs event + no ice dance event is off. It's clear that neither Canadian nor USA fed (or clubs) are willing to invest their money and hold a full Challenger next season otherwise ISU would not go for this set up, in Asia again only Denis Ten trophy. If ISU is not willing to invest money into the series and develop it evenly across the continents than they may as well call it off. Another issue IMO is the series as whole lacks direction. If it was set up as a series for the middle/lower pack skaters who can't access GP then let's leave it as such, let's restrict the big guns and leave it open for the middle/lower pack skaters. I'd be the odd one, but I'll say it...the series does not need the big guns, let it be the place where spectators can discover new names and where the middle/lower pack can make their name and their path upwards. I can't say how many times I've said in the last year "Who would have thought that he/she would come this far when we saw them for the first time at Nepela..." With the big guns there the competition does lose the thrill, because you know in advance that unless they mess up badly they are going to be on the podium, sometimes you can even say in what order...when you have even field the results can go either way and I do find such competitions more fun to watch. The possibility to watch online does not even need to be commented on, if you want to watch online prepare to open your valet wide. I don't have issue with monetizing the streams, but paying 20+ EUR weekly to watch a Challenger is way too steep prize, there needs to be a balance between "supply and demand", if you set up your price too steep you are loosing money in the end.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

But ISU is IMO making losses through their own approach, and my impression is that it just keeps going downhill each year.
- If events are held in poorly accessible locations, they can expect little revenue from the few lucky enough to live nearby, plus those who are willing to spend a full day getting there, and another getting back.

They can only choose from the applications they get. Also, what is poorly accessible for you might not be poorly accessible for others, even if they don't live "nearby". I live the same distance away from my university as some of my fellow students, and it takes them half the time it takes me to get there.

- If events are held at venues with ridiculous ticket prices, they can expect little participation as well, unless huge stars that draw crowds are competing there.

And if the ISU limits ticket prices, how many countries will still offer to host? Would for example Canada have applied to host Worlds if they knew their tickets had to be affordable?

- If streams and videos are geoblocked and monetized, they can expect a loss as many will just give up. Like I gave up on watching 4CC as I'm too lazy to set up an ad blocker for Opera that I only use for accessing ISU channel's geoblocked stuff when absolutely necessary. I suffered through the numerous commercials only for Sota, then gave up on watching the event for good. I never even found out which sh*tty channel bought the 4CC rights in my country this year as noone broadcasted it on linear channels, and I cannot be bothered to investigate on Eurosport's website. I assume it was a loss for both ISU and that unknown channel in the end. One can hardly become a fan of what one cannot see, or what's difficult to see.

Actually, selling broadcasting rights is really the most important way the ISU is currently making money, with TV deals bringing in over CHF 19 million (of 35 million total income streams, the second largest of which comes from the last Olympics). Even if we don't like it, without it, the ISU would not be hanging on financially at this point.
And when the ISU tried to monetise their streams with ads, people weren't happy about that either - So what do you want them to do to fund their expenses?

- If the only ones able to score very nice points & move high in the rankings are European skaters, that's also on ISU. Maybe they should try harder with their marketing strategy for Asia and N/A. It's ridiculous to imagine that this year, all the big stars will be fighting for a measly 3 or so Challengers before the GP series starts. Who's going to be ready in early August for their US singles event? Hardly anyone, I imagine. Who's going to come to Hungary and all the events after it? Mostly middle of the pack European skaters, which means their victories would be worth less than a 4th place in a star-packed Nebelhorn. I'm just guessing there, but the timing of CS is especially unfortunate this year, benefitting neither the skaters (I predict the first 3 post-US Challengers are going to be a blood bath), nor the audience (stars not spread out - audience participation in the later events will suffer, I think). And that's also on the ISU.

And again, a lot of it (apart from the timing of Challengers having to be in the first half of the season) is up to organisers applying. The ISU can't force Canada to hold a Challenger or the USA to hold two full ones if Canada doesn't want to hold one.

Budapest Trophy, Warsaw Cup and Golden Spin have historically not had issues with entry numbers, particularly not the Budapest Trophy and Golden Spin ("GPF alternative").

And really, the middle-of-the-pack skaters who don't qualify for the GP are exactly who the Challenger Series is supposed to be for. It's just the problem that non-Europeans have fewer options - Once again a question of applications. It's difficult to hold an event in a certain region if organisers are clearly not interested.

--------

It's easy for all of us to point out what is being done wrong when we don't also have to offer realistic alternatives - Not selling TV rights when that is basically your only major source of income is really not one of those.

I understand that people want the ISU to invest more, and that is probably more possible (as they have assets that could be liquidated), but lets not forget that the ISU governs over not just figure skating, but also speed skating and synchronised skating - Any incoming money is split among the three branches, even if we might only care for one of the branches.
(And I also have the suspicion that speed skating makes a plus, while figure skating and definitely synchronised skating probably don't).

Just look at the countries organising Junior & Senior B events (that don't get any funding from the ISU, from my understanding), that's really Europe-centric as well. Likely, it's just a result of geography - Many smaller countries, connected via land, as well as tightly economically and politically connected, so it's just much easier for organisers to attract the necessary amount of skaters to hold competitions. - How much can be done to mitigate that?

 

[saine]

And again, a lot of it (apart from the timing of Challengers having to be in the first half of the season) is up to organisers applying. The ISU can't force Canada to hold a Challenger or the USA to hold two full ones if Canada doesn't want to hold one.

I think that the North American Challenger is supposed to alternate between the US and Canada. So Skate Canada would budget based on that since they know that the upcoming season is the turn of USFS to hold a Challenger, and likewise for USFS.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

I think that the North American Challenger is supposed to alternate between the US and Canada. So Skate Canada would budget based on that since they know that the upcoming season is the turn of USFS to hold a Challenger, and likewise for USFS.

It's not necessarily an either-or situation, it's an "at least one Challenger event has to be in the USA or Canada" situation, and the rest of the Challenger events not already standing are added from a pool of applications.

Pre-Covid both US Classic and Autumn Classic were often held in the same year as Challengers, but now post-Covid it seems like neither Canada nor the US are particularly interested in holding a Challenger.

(And I say this with not a lot of joy, but even when there were two Challengers in North America, both Canada and the US were often only sending small contingents to the Challenger in the neighboring country. In 2019, for example, the USA sent only two singles skaters to Autumn Classic (and no Ice Dancers), while in 2018, Canada only sent two Singles skaters, one pair and one Ice Dance team to US Classic.)

 

[4everchan]

That's easier said than done when the ISU is making losses each year

For sure... but you know... Skate Canada is crying desperately to get more funding... and it will get less and less funding... so if one of the big feds can no longer send their athletes out and host events.... guess what will happen ?

Spending even more is not likely to make the financial advisors happy, especially when there's no direct money to be made from the additional investments (Challengers don't really bring in additional advertising and broadcasting money for the ISU, as they are not picked up by broadcasting companies).

I know... The issue is then that they need to make more money so they can save the sport. The feds cannot do that alone. Even Finland now is not doing Finlandia... a challenger that I have followed for years and years.... There is a very serious problem and we know it and to me, it's too simple to say that the feds are not interested because it's too much money... To me, this is collateral damage not the main reason. And yes, all this is easy to say but it does remain valid. If the ISU cannot support the feds in hosting events, then there will be less and less events in less and less areas of the world... and then.. guess what??

 

[4everchan]

PS : I don't hear complaints about Speed skating nor short track and I follow these two sports too... They have nice world cup events all seasons with Euros, 4CC and worlds as well

 

[Jumping_Bean]

PS : I don't hear complaints about Speed skating nor short track and I follow these two sports too... They have nice world cup events all seasons with Euros, 4CC and worlds as well

But they actually don't have more ISU events than figure skating, they actually have less (around 15 for speed skating vs. 29 for figure skating). Their World Cup events are somehow more equivalent to the Senior (and Junior) GPs, with there only being six of them on the Senior level and five on the Junior level, and there is no "two-tier system" of ISU competitions like in figure skating with the invitation-based GPs and open-for-all Challengers.

The speed skating season (November - March) also is quite a bit shorter than the figure skating season (August - March).

Short Track has an even lower amount of competitions than speed skating (~13), but is considered a separate category by the ISU (like Synchro and Figure skating are separate categories). While there's definitely skaters doing both, it's not a complete overlap so the two World Cups (Short track and Long track) aren't "stealing" entries from each other like the GPs do with the Challengers in figure skating.

So maybe, for the Challengers' future, the ISU would have to get rid of the GPs - But that is not wanted for advertising and broadcasting reasons (max. 2 warm-up groups per discipline vs. 24+ entries, etc.), so where does that leave us?

 

[4everchan]

But they actually don't have more ISU events than figure skating, they actually have less (around 15 for speed skating vs. 29 for figure skating). Their World Cup events are somehow more equivalent to the Senior (and Junior) GPs, with there only being six of them on the Senior level and five on the Junior level, and there is no "two-tier system" of ISU competitions like in figure skating with the invitation-based GPs and open-for-all Challengers.

cannot really compare because their world cup is not invitational like GP series... countries can send their athletes... (there is a quota of entries per country but it's large... because there are relays too)

So maybe let's stop with the two tier.. have more GP events... have 24 skaters instead of 12 in them ... etc and bring more interest with deeper fields during GPs.

The speed skating season (November - March) also is quite a bit shorter than the figure skating season (August - March).

that can be fixed speed skaters train and prepare nationally until the later fall... make the same with skaters... no need to have JGP events in august... make them later.. no need to have so many early fall challengers when skaters are not ready.... etc

Short Track has an even lower amount of competitions than speed skating (~13), but is considered a separate category by the ISU (like Synchro and Figure skating are separate categories).

My point is more that I follow both long track and short track, and the latter is a relatively new sport and I don't hear issues about the number of events or their location. They seem to have found what works for them... versus figure skating where fans are complaining all the time and with reason...

How many posts have been made about the lack of opportunities for Canadian skaters ? and there was ACI this year... I don't even want to think what will happen next year, after hosting worlds.... I think i will start a gofundme for my son.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

So maybe let's stop with the two tier.. have more GP events... have 24 skaters instead of 12 in them ... etc and bring more interest with deeper fields during GPs.

You answered before I edited my post, but bigger GPs have historically not been wanted for scheduling, broadcasting and advertising reasons. That's the reason why the Challenger Series came to be.

My point is more that I follow both long track and short track, and the latter is a relatively new sport and I don't hear issues about the number of events or their location. They seem to have found what works for them... versus figure skating where fans are complaining all the time and with reason...

I have to wonder though if that also has something to do with the people following the sport, and not the actual opportunities the athletes get.
But yes, the different system has its effect on that too - Like the Figure skating GPs, the Short Track Sr World Cup has two events each in North America, Europe and Asia. With open entries, that does open more opportunities for skaters to travel to events close to them (though the North American events are early in the season, while the European events are scheduled in the lead-up to Worlds).
The Junior World Cups all took place in the Netherlands though, so I wonder if there have been people grumbling about that and we just haven't heard

 

[4everchan]

You answered before I edited my post, but bigger GPs have historically not been wanted for scheduling, broadcasting and advertising reasons. That's the reason why the Challenger Series came to be.

too bad

I have to wonder though if that also has something to do with the people following the sport, and not the actual opportunities the athletes get.
But yes, the different system has its effect on that too - Like the Figure skating GPs, the Short Track Sr World Cup has two events each in North America, Europe and Asia. With open entries, that does open more opportunities for skaters to travel to events close to them (though the North American events are early in the season, while the European events are scheduled in the lead-up to Worlds).
The Junior World Cups all took place in the Netherlands though, so I wonder if there have been people grumbling about that and we just haven't heard

the NL is the mecca of speed skating (long track) and skaters and fans love going there.

 

[saine]

(And I say this with not a lot of joy, but even when there were two Challengers in North America, both Canada and the US were often only sending small contingents to the Challenger in the neighboring country. In 2019, for example, the USA sent only two singles skaters to Autumn Classic (and no Ice Dancers), while in 2018, Canada only sent two Singles skaters, one pair and one Ice Dance team to US Classic.)

That's a real shame. I wish that there would be more cross-border competition, especially the singles/pairs. Even if it's domestic competitions, it's a good way to get judging feedback from a different federation.

 

[Jeanie19]

I don't like that US and Canada do not each have a Challenger. And I don't understand why Japan does not have one. Or at least rotate Japan, Korea and China.

I'm thrilled that Cranberry is a challenger this year but are Canada and US going to at least getting a senior B?

 

[Jumping_Bean]

That's a real shame. I wish that there would be more cross-border competition, especially the singles/pairs. Even if it's domestic competitions, it's a good way to get judging feedback from a different federation.

Yes, I too am always shocked to see how unwilling some federations are to send out skaters even to nearby countries (for example, China only sent out a handful of Senior skaters to Asian Open Trophy this season, despite Thailand being very geographically close to China).

It seems like such a waste, for the athletes but also just in general.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

And I don't understand why Japan does not have one. Or at least rotate Japan, Korea and China.

Japan doesn't seem to want one, if they applied they certainly would get it. Same goes for Korea (probably preoccupied with speed skating ). China has had a Challenger in the past, but they had 4CC this season and the GP, and with the aftereffects of Covid, they might just not be interested at the moment.

I'm thrilled that Cranberry is a challenger this year but are Canada and US going to at least getting a senior B?

If they organise one With the USA not even organising a proper Challenger, I don't know if they'll organise a Senior B to replace the two Senior Bs they are using as Challengers now.

 

[surimi]

They can only choose from the applications they get. Also, what is poorly accessible for you might not be poorly accessible for others, even if they don't live "nearby". I live the same distance away from my university as some of my fellow students, and it takes them half the time it takes me to get there.

I was not talking about what is well accessible for me, though. I was talking about easy access to competitions for international fans as opposed to just those who live nearby (and their numbers would reflect just that). And that's exactly the case with small towns and remote locations. If one holds a competition in a place that requires multiple transfers from the nearest international airport, or is so tiny that visitors may have to commute from their accommodation in another city (except for twin cities like Espoo and Helsinki), one shouldn't be surprised if audience numbers suffer.

And if the ISU limits ticket prices, how many countries will still offer to host? Would for example Canada have applied to host Worlds if they knew their tickets had to be affordable?

I have no idea, I'm neither an economist nor an ISU insider or rink owner. But there's a lot of truth in the old sayings that less is more, and he who wants too much, may end up with nothing. Greedy venues mostly result in poor spectator attendance, that should be a no brainer, and we have seen a couple of competitions illustrating just that. Their options may not be vast, but the negotiations and fed/owner convincing are ISU's to make. It's their money at stake. A venue can host other types of events such as hockey. ISU only have skating, and I suppose every little entrance fee helps.

And when the ISU tried to monetise their streams with ads, people weren't happy about that either - So what do you want them to do to fund their expenses?

I don't really recall that, but if it was anything like Youtube ads that interrupt performances with disruptive ads so you can't even watch one skater's performance in one piece... then I'm not surprised it was hated. A TV-like format with zamboni breaks full of ads would be much better. Even for warmups, a part of the screen could be featuring ads for all I care. But extending already long competitions by almost 1-minute ads, horribly placed in the middle of performances by a computer program that only cares about timing, not about cohesion... if that is what ISU were trying, no wonder it failed. When there's a will there's a way, and who can vouch that ISU have really tried all the ways, especially if, as is an open secret, the ISU's #1 priority is speed skating, not FS.

And again, a lot of it (apart from the timing of Challengers having to be in the first half of the season) is up to organisers applying. The ISU can't force Canada to hold a Challenger or the USA to hold two full ones if Canada doesn't want to hold one.
[...] Once again a question of applications. It's difficult to hold an event in a certain region if organisers are clearly not interested.

I would not be so quick to point fingers at lack of interest from feds. A year or so ago, I heard an insider talk candidly about the difficulty their fed had for several years in convincing the ISU officials to hold 2026 WC in Prague. IIRC, they mentioned they were battling ISU officials' distrust and conservatism. It's a bigger event than a Challenger, but I'd never think ISU would play hard to get if a country is willing to host. And yet, it obviously happened. Who is to say for sure that the same may not be happening with other, smaller competitions.

It's easy for all of us to point out what is being done wrong when we don't also have to offer realistic alternatives - Not selling TV rights when that is basically your only major source of income is really not one of those.

But it's not the TV rights for streaming that's the issue. The real problem is the geoblocks on ISU content on YT and elsewhere for weeks, months and years after the event is over, although the broadcasters themselves almost never air it again. It dramatically decreases the chances of gaining new fans for the sport through random videos of iconic performances. Japan is an exception there, fans there are willing to pay for on demand archives, but Eurosport and other channels... I don't know if it's legislation that would need to change, or just broadcasting contract terms and conditions, but this thing with TV networks sitting on the rights forever and ever, although they may not have it available for archive viewing on demand for more than 14 days to 1 month - that just needs to stop. It's hurting not just FS.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

I was not talking about what is well accessible for me, though. I was talking about easy access to competitions for international fans as opposed to just those who live nearby (and their numbers would reflect just that). And that's exactly the case with small towns and remote locations. If one holds a competition in a place that requires multiple transfers from the nearest international airport, or is so tiny that visitors may have to commute from their accommodation in another city (except for twin cities like Espoo and Helsinki), one shouldn't be surprised if audience numbers suffer.

You for example mentioned the Nebelhorn Trophy, and yes, it might not be the most easily travelled to, but when compared to for example Lombardia Trophy (similar time point, international airport nearby, definitely large enough to host the visitors with a size of over 100,000 inhabitants), there aren't just more competitors at Nebelhorn but also more visitors (based on videos).

Maybe ease of travel is not the most major obstacle but lack of transparent organisation?
People are willing to travel, even with multiple layovers, but only when they can be sure where, when and how a competition will happen, and how to obtain tickets and for which price.

I have no idea, I'm neither an economist nor an ISU insider or rink owner. But there's a lot of truth in the old sayings that less is more, and he who wants too much, may end up with nothing. Greedy venues mostly result in poor spectator attendance, that should be a no brainer, and we have seen a couple of competitions illustrating just that. Their options may not be vast, but the negotiations and fed/owner convincing are ISU's to make. It's their money at stake. A venue can host other types of events such as hockey. ISU only have skating, and I suppose every little entrance fee helps.

It's difficult to negotiate when you are clearly the weaker negotiating partner. Countries don't have to host competition, and often occur significant costs when they host competitions (by the way, contracts for venues are not between the ISU and the venue, but the organising ISU member and the venue), and can easily withdraw their bid when they don't agree with the conditions placed on them (or for really any reason, even after already having been allocated the competition, see Euros this season).

This wouldn't be a problem if you have a lot of applications, but that's really always the case - 4CC for example had 2 applications for this season, one for last and two for next season - From only 4 different countries (with two of them having political issues with each other that could cause issues - just like what happened at Jr Worlds this season). And then people were unhappy about the timing of 4CC this year almost colliding with US Nationals when the ISU only had the choice between 4CC being scheduled when it was held or even earlier (the weekend after Euros).

I don't really recall that, but if it was anything like Youtube ads that interrupt performances with disruptive ads so you can't even watch one skater's performance in one piece... then I'm not surprised it was hated. A TV-like format with zamboni breaks full of ads would be much better. Even for warmups, a part of the screen could be featuring ads for all I care. But extending already long competitions by almost 1-minute ads, horribly placed in the middle of performances by a computer program that only cares about timing, not about cohesion... if that is what ISU were trying, no wonder it failed. When there's a will there's a way, and who can vouch that ISU have really tried all the ways, especially if, as is openly admitted, the ISU's #1 priority is speed skating, not FS.

I don't quite remember, but I think the ads were not popping up when you watched live only if you were watching the competitions after the livestream was over. And I just want to point out that it's a lot easier to just turn on YT monetization (general advertisers) than to find advertisers who are specifically willing to sponsor your niche sports event.
Basically, this is also the reason why Challengers have switched to having paid live streams (as much as it annoys me and I can't pay for them), because they are having issues finding sponsors post-Covid. Here, I do think the ISU should step in, and that I think they can be criticised for, because this is a prime opportunity to create a platform you'd pay for like once a year (for less than like the almost 200 € paying for all Challenger live streams would cost) and could then watch all Challenger events (which would also force all Challengers to stream, looking at you, Golden Spin of Zagreb), and exclusive content a la YouTube memberships

I would not be so quick to point fingers at lack of interest from feds. A year or so ago, I heard an insider talk candidly about the difficulty their fed had for several years in convincing the ISU officials to hold 2026 WC in Prague. IIRC, they mentioned they were battling ISU officials' distrust and conservatism. It's a bigger event than a Challenger, but I'd never think ISU would play hard to get if a country is willing to host. And yet, it obviously happened. Who is to say for sure that the same may not be happening with other, smaller competitions.

ISU Championship applications are publicly available information, including some of the specifics of the applications (2025 & 2026). Prague first applied for 2025 and then for 2026 and 2027 after 2025 was given to Boston, so they got Worlds the second time they applied. Yes, of course, it takes a while for an applicant to be chosen (even if there's only one applicant until almost the very end), because they want to avoid situations like Euros this season, 2022 4CC and 2022 Junior Worlds, where a last-minute replacement has to be found.

But it's not the TV rights for streaming that's the issue. The real problem is the geoblocks on ISU content on YT and elsewhere for weeks, months and years after the event is over, although the broadcasters themselves almost never air it again. It dramatically decreases the chances of gaining new fans for the sport through random videos of iconic performances. Japan is an exception there, fans there are willing to pay for on demand archives, but Eurosport and other channels... I don't know if it's legislation that would need to change, or just broadcasting contract terms and conditions, but this TV networks sitting on the rights forever and ever, although they may not have it available for archive viewing on demand for more than 14 days to 1 month - that just needs to stop. It's hurting not just FS.

TV broadcasters like to buy exclusive rights for obvious reasons (there are a number of scientific works about this), and are very willing to pay big bucks even for relatively niche sports as long as they are guaranteed exclusivity. And once a broadcaster has bought the exclusive rights for a certain region, the ISU is legally bound to that. The thing is, in many countries, the ISU is probably not the negotiating partner with the bigger power, so they are often stuck with what they are offered or not get any money from selling broadcasting rights at all, with the exception of maybe Japan, Russia and possibly the USA (where multiple broadcasters would have interest in broadcasting the competitions.
In Germany, for example, multiple broadcasting companies often buy broadcasting rights as a conglomerate because they are unwilling (or unable) to pay the price on their own, particularly for niche sports. The broadcasting is then distributed across different platforms (one might show only the women and pairs in full, the other will live stream all, and the last one only shows summaries), which is super annoying as a consumer, but from the ISU's standpoint, I understand why they allow this, because it's either this or they don't sell any broadcasting rights in Germany.

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In the end, all of this is the result of a free market economy (i.e. capitalism) and the ISU like any other organisation has to make money somehow. Idealism is commendable, and we need it to develop in the right direction, but we also have to be realistic. Some things just are not possible if you have to cover your costs somehow.
And yes, thinking of the future and how to build a consumer base in the future is incredibly important, but bills also have to be paid in the present, so a balance has to be found somehow.