And how could the ISU make more skaters, multiple skaters around the globe at the same time, who can offer what the skater you're thinking of offered to attract audiences during their most popular era of eligible competition?
There's already lots of damage done, as few skaters have developed skills enabling them to express a program in a deeper way. That's not because of IJS, it's because of the return of "shady judging" as would say Mathman, which has been incentivising the wrong ways of skating. Yes there's a wow factor in saying this skater's just jumped a xytuple zw or there's a new World Record but when they watch, most don't find it interesting because they're searching something entertaining. Many of us are persuaded that Figure Skating is a niche sport, but it isn't really. Apart from team vs team sports like Soccer, which are "in another league", or Tennis (not even sure) or Formula 1, Figure Skating is really in the top. Videos from the Olympic Channel show that it's not only the skater we're thinking of, he's first by a tiny margin and the second video is of... Pair skaters. They're second and third, not very very far behind a 6 year older Summer Olympic video, the only more viewed than these skating programs. The team sports, Tennis and Formula 1 are not Olympic staples so they wouldn't be in these top Olympic Channel videos, but among other sports, Figure Skating IS popular. I suppose that to attract even more people, Figure Skating has to meet more expectations than real niche sports. In my opinion, it has to be a bewitching mix of athleticism and entertainment. There Figure Skating has a strong point because there are styles of skating to meet all tastes. But trying to force on people those chosen by ISU who have nothing to become popular whatever the narrative, repels more potential viewers than it attracts. I hope that you will excuse me for giving a name, but also, Ari Zakarian's "ideas" reek the 1980s used cars salesperson's methods. How would it work? And it's not only ISU. I don't know how it is at USFed, I don't know how things are going at French Fed (I hope, better than in Gymnastics) but there are a few leaks from JSF, it's a bit, "how to fail in a big way", "we're failing let's go on with the same methods to see if we may win"... I understand that the Kinoshita Group has tried some "you've failed now let's be more sensible" in 2023 but my impression is that they've been defeated. (I must also say that among their pets, Kaori Sakamoto is really good and Rio Tanaka is promising.)
Shows like Disney on Ice or Holiday on Ice make a little money, so there's some interest for skating. The same goes for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line who goes on building ships with bigger and bigger (still small) rinks and having popular shows there. These shows have neither a high level athleticism nor great inventiveness, just well tried entertainment recipes, and they give opportunities to skaters who have never gone very far in competition, but who have both animated and taken benefit from their federation's general coaching and competition settings.
Many say that the typical champions' shows don't sell anymore. I don't agree. I'd rather say, fake champions don't sell. I wouldn't assert that it means that the public can't be fooled, but this quad shows that it isn't. It's not only that they're not shown the best, it's that most of real innovation hasn't been hyped and has little succession among current skaters, and what has been hyped isn't deemed interesting. To be certain that there's a declining interest in this type of shows (each skater/team skates to one or two of their programs, with some group programs, without elaborate scenography; and the biggest ones have some guest musicians), would need to experience them with a promotion of the real best skaters rather than those "chosen", including the medals they deserve and why. Then only we could see which was the cause of the decline. (I must say that with the little I saw of Hyoen, I don't understand why attendance is so sparse.)
Then, there are Yuzuru Hanyu's shows, he's not only skating better by far, enabling him to translate his thoughts into skating, and a very charismatic person; he's a visionary genius as there are very few, able to write stories and to make shows of them, which attracts far more than people who know Figure Skating, which is an immense opportunity to Figure Skating; I believe that it is his aim, to make Figure Skating known, more than to make himself known, because Figure Skating is his great love, but his only power is to show himself. What's missing is synergy with the rest of Figure Skating world, rather than ostracism. Allowing (or encouraging) other skaters to declare themselves fans is a tiny progress on the previous prohibition (and request for hailing the pets) but (I think to his despair) when people who have seen and appreciated his shows give a try to Competitive Figure Skating, there's no articulation, there's rather a fault line, they don't see that the competitors of today may be great show people in the future and how, once again they're not shown the best, and overall, skaters aren't encouraged to improve because rules are ignored, yet I know from his own declarations over the years and from his acts that his aim is to invite people to love Figure Skating in general. Fortunately, he's not easily discouraged and the opportunities are still there.
