Skating Ratings Shock Espn (Hirsh article)

[R.D.]

I honestly think that skating needs a big story to once again bring it back in the limelight in the US, and I think the thing that could do it is if Michelle won the OGM. It would be the story of the olympics and the media could run with her for a long time. Plus she would gain superstardom in the US and endorsements alone would bring skating into the forefront of the average Americans mind. And if Michelle then went into promotional mode - through touring, commentating, made for TV specials featuring other skaters, well it would help the US skating market ALOT.

Very true. But I doubt it would get people WATCHING skating again. MK is already big though so I don't think winning the OGM will make that big of a difference in her fame. However, for a young teenager it's a way to catapult you into the spotlight, get job offers, touring, advertising, TV specials, etc. Kwan ALREADY has all of that, so really, what else could the OGM offer her?

If "losing" the Olympics brought MK this much fame, I can't even imagine what would happen if she had won it. I'd just cringe thinking of all the junk that would happen...

 

[R.D.]

Ha, I just checked Heather's schedule and ESPN is repeating Worlds on Monday night...so they complain about the ratings but keep showing it?

Wonder if the repeat will get higher ratings than the original broadcast

More promoting and a clearer picture could have made a difference.

 

[Kathy]

Red Dog that's exactly my point. Michelle is already very famous but this would be a story book ending. A story all parents would want to teach their children. Years of work, good sportmanship, never giving up - can pay off. And you know she would be just a wonderfully gracious winner. A role model for all young athletes. And everyone would identify with her - just like Dan Jansen - how grand it is to finally succeed after being so close before. I don't think her fame would be like any other OGM- she'd go from star to superstar. Only some OGM "make it" to the hearts of the everyday american. Tara didn't, Sarah didn't, Carly Patterson didn't. We're not so enamoured with one shot wonders anymore - they come and go quickly. I think Sasha would fare the same - she doesn't have the personality to be an american darling. Michelle winning would have everyone with figure skating on the brain for a long while - and you betcha she could use her superstar status to promote skating in general. I have no doubt she would.

 

[R.D.]

Red Dog that's exactly my point. Michelle is already very famous but this would be a story book ending. A story all parents would want to teach their children. Years of work, good sportmanship, never giving up - can pay off. And you know she would be just a wonderfully gracious winner. A role model for all young athletes. And everyone would identify with her - just like Dan Jansen - how grand it is to finally succeed after being so close before. I don't think her fame would be like any other OGM- she'd go from star to superstar. Only some OGM "make it" to the hearts of the everyday american. Tara didn't, Sarah didn't, Carly Patterson didn't. We're not so enamoured with one shot wonders anymore - they come and go quickly. I think Sasha would fare the same - she doesn't have the personality to be an american darling. Michelle winning would have everyone with figure skating on the brain for a long while - and you betcha she could use her superstar status to promote skating in general. I have no doubt she would.

Yes...the other recent OGM's certainly got their 15 minutes of fame and then just went back to living their everyday lives.

A lot of people even think MK already has an OGM. GO figure.

I think you've a point about MK being a role model. She might be able to get young kids to skate but I doubt she could bump TV ratings (unless she's in it, of course ). Still, I don't think she will be quite as big as let's say Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods.

I don't know, though. I just don't see her winning the Olympics at this point in time. In fact I don't see ANY American winning it this time.

 

[attyfan]

... A lot of people even think MK already has an OGM. GO figure.

IMHO, Kwan's fame is the reason people think she has an OGM. I sometimes think that the majority of the public equates the OGM with "any skater that I hear about, except Tonya Harding".

 

[brad640]

I think another reason why ratings may be low is that the COP has completely changed the way the game is played. The romance of the 6.0 system was that 1-4 places controlled their own destiny with the LP. I bet that the casual fan is turned of by the large and meaningless numbers awarded at the end of the program. I also think that programs geared towards COP are less interesting, so much emphasis is put on uping the degree of difficulty in spins and footword with complicated edging that aesthetics are often ignored. I think that skaters like Jeff Buttle have done a good job creating programs that are entertaining and make the most of the COP.

I have had the same thought about CoP making skating less audience friendly, and possibly contributing to low ratings. On one hand, Jeff was the king of the new judging system with his sublime Naqoyqatsi LP choreographed so brilliantly by David Wilson. They showed how the new system could encourage great and memorable skating and accumulate points with great difficulty in the transitions, spins and footwork.

On the other hand, I think most skaters’ teams still did not know how to incorporate the new rules into a complete program. There were so many awkward inside edge spins and bielman positions that added nothing to the programs other than a few tenths of a point. Also, the new system encouraged omissions like Michelle leaving out the triple loop, and it discouraged risk taking by under-rewarding quads, 3-3s and triple axels. Also, for all the talk about the importance of transitions, I did not see very many interesting movements beyond jumps, spins and footwork. Looking back, performances from the 80’s and earlier were filled with exciting varieties of split jumps, dance movements and moves in the field. I don’t see the new system doing anything to encourage skaters to add excitement to their programs or to entertain the audience.

As for ESPN b!tching about streaming video, maybe they need to get online and see what the fans are doing. The fans are downloading programs as the event is occurring b/c they want the coverage as close to the event as possible, want to see all the skaters, and want an event that is covered professionally (by Eurosport, Chinese TV etc) and doesn't reek of being a cheap afterthought. I don't even tape skating events anymore b/c what I get online is so much better. I would prefer to see the event on a big TV but I'm not wasting tape on ESPN coverage!

So true! ESPN has no idea how to market skating to core fans. Fans want to see the closest approximation possible to sitting live in the arena. I watched worlds on the internet, switching between Russian tv online and raisport depending on who was carrying the events live. This was not the ideal way to watch because the feed interruptions would sometimes skip at the worst possible time, like right before a jump. It was easy to download the programs at FSU and read Rosaleen’s reports to fill in the gaps. ESPN’s coverage was an afterthought for me because everything was delayed and they showed only the top few skaters.

I think ESPN should consider a more diversified broadcast for next year. ESPN 360 seemed like it had potential to be a good online alternative for downloading individual programs without commentary, but it is not available on most service providers, and they only made available the top 3 performances in each discipline. I think there could be possibilities for better programming on HDTV channels. NBC’s HD coverage of gymnastics at the Olympics was similar to the internet feeds, showing several performances in a row and showing most of the competitors in the field, but the coverage was delayed until the morning after the performances had aired in the regular primetime broadcast.

ESPN could improve ratings by catering more to the family audience as well. The Hirsh article states that the highest rated cable skating broadcast was on ABC Family. I think skating has a lot of family appeal because many of the athletes appeal to a younger audience. ESPN might want to think about showing more of the junior competitions and advertising on Nickelodeon. Now that the age limit is in full effect, I think the juniors are more exciting than before and might be more relatable to a younger audience. I think they were trying to go for that with all the Kimmie coverage, but the overall packaging of All Access was geared toward an adult female audience. I noticed ESPN did a couple of promos going after the female audience with a montage of Michelle, Venus and Serena, and Pat Summit, but as others have said, they did not make it easy for nontraditional sports audiences to find the skating coverage.

did you notice that this year's coverage without Dick Button, we hardly hear any criticizing of NJS? All are praises and sang along. Had Dick been there, you bet hearing something critical especially in Lady's SP. But non of any critisizing from US TV or may be not any from NA tv stations

I noticed this too, mzheng. I think ESPN deserved the pitiful ratings because they were not willing to stand up to the ISU to enforce their contractual right to have Dick Button as a commentator. I do not see why ABC/ESPN would care if Dick criticized the ISU or the new judging system as long as audiences watched. I think Dick has helped make the sport more accessible to non-skating fans, and he makes for great television. Dick always calls it like he sees it, and I love that he is passionate about the sport and the skaters and is thrilled when someone does well. I think the ESPN commentary was very dull this year and lacked the excitement befitting the most important skating event of the year. The mood was the same as all the ESPN broadcasts during the GP.

For me commentary is a very important part of the sport, but it does not have to be made during the performance. I enjoy the commentary during the warm up segments when the commentators have watched the practices and set up the important moments for each group to skate’

bring Elvis (Stojko) on as a commentator, if he's interested. It's not as exciting as watching him skate (sigh, I need my old tapes) but it's the next best thing. He has done it in the past - for CTV, I believe - and he was awesome!

I agree Elvis would make a great commentator. He was very outspoken in his eligible days about the direction of the sport, fairness of judging, and technical advancements.

I also want to add that NBC's biased coverage of the pairs event ruined figure skating. I am tired of hearing all the b!tching about the scoring system. I think most people who tune in just want to see skating and not hear all the controversy. There's enough turmoil in the world without getting folks all worked up about a figure skating result

Scott and Sandra B. should be sanctioned from commentating for their inflammatory remarks about B&S. It is one thing for Dick Button to voice his concerns about the ISU and their mismanagement of the sport. It is another thing to make vindictive comments about the competitors themselves as Scott and Sandra did.

 

[Eeyora]

I



Scott and Sandra B. should be sanctioned from commentating for their inflammatory remarks about B&S. It is one thing for Dick Button to voice his concerns about the ISU and their mismanagement of the sport. It is another thing to make vindictive comments about the competitors themselves as Scott and Sandra did.

I hated their commentary too. They kept their comment nice enough to get them to join SOI.

Interestingly enought Scott also supported WSF.

 

[Mathman]

Great post, Brad!

 

[Mathman]

Seriously, though, does anyone know if there is a financial connection between figure skating and speed skating? If the ISU's earnings from selling TV rights to figure skating provides the prize money for not just figure skaters, but also speed skaters, then the cut in ratings and reduced money would trickle down to reduced prize money for the speed skaters, too, wouldn't it? If so, wouldn't the speed skating federations be concerned? Could they help get rid of $peedy?

I have read that almost all of the revenue of the ISU comes from the figure skating side. Speedskating is supported out of the ISU's general coffers, so in this sense, yes, figure skating supports the ISU's speedskating program. This was one of the points that the World Skating Federation tried to make. That figure skating needed its own international federation, in which decisions wuld be made in the best interests of figure skating.

In the current situation, the tail wags the dog. Both the President (Cinquanta) and the first vice president come from the speed skating side, as well as half of the governing council. This was one of the objections to the way the whole CoP issue was handled. A two-thirds majority was needed to ratify the new judging system. But is was easy for Speedy to achieve this because he had all of the speed skating representatives on his side. Speedy's rationale was that a new judging system for figure skating was such an important issue that the entire membership, speed skaters and all, should vote on it.

I don't think the speed skating side would ever turn against Cinquanta no matter low low figure skating revenues sink.

Mathman

 

[Mathman]

ESPN could improve ratings by catering more to the family audience as well. The Hirsh article states that the highest rated cable skating broadcast was on ABC Family. I think skating has a lot of family appeal because many of the athletes appeal to a younger audience. ESPN might want to think about showing more of the junior competitions and advertising on Nickelodeon. Now that the age limit is in full effect, I think the juniors are more exciting than before and might be more relatable to a younger audience.

This is a fantastic idea. Maybe that is the real solution to the Grand Prix puzzle. Push the Junior Grand Prix instead. Marketed to young people, I see no reason why kids wouldn't form fan clubs for Mao Asada, Katy Taylor, etc. Put on the competitions live, start up some kind of Internet tie-in. Some big sponsor like Disney ought to be all over that!

Mathman

 

[Doggygirl]

This is a fantastic idea. Maybe that is the real solution to the Grand Prix puzzle. Push the Junior Grand Prix instead. Marketed to young people, I see no reason why kids wouldn't form fan clubs for Mao Asada, Katy Taylor, etc. Put on the competitions live, start up some kind of Internet tie-in. Some big sponsor like Disney ought to be all over that!

Mathman

ITA with Brad!! Especially now with the age limits for seniors, what a great way to showcase the younger talent to the younger crowd, create new fan bases, etc. Supplementing some TV coverage with internet coverage would be perfect for the teen age group. (and some of us old farts too!)

Brad, we vote you president and CEO of Disney.

DG

 

[33leprechaun]

why does it say that "the message you have entered is too short"?

Leprechaun, MZheng was saying that she had moved her own post to another thread. She was not telling any other poster to move.

My fault. There were two threads started on the same topic. MZheng posted on one of them, then moved her post to the other when the other became the more active of the two. When I merged the two threads into one I should have deleted MZheng's first post.
sorry for the misunderstanding - this is why I need to get more ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ BTW why does it keep saying that the message I wrote was too short? Boy, I really do need more sleep. Gotta stop having those crazy skating dreams - I skate pretty well in them, though!
Mathman

sorry for the misunderstanding

 

[33leprechaun]

sorry for misunderstanding - I'm a little sleep deprived

 

[Mathman]

sorry for the misunderstanding

The reason for the "Your message is too short" thing is that you wrote your response within the quote /quote brackets. This made your message appear as part of the quote, rather than as your own post. Quotes don't count in computing the message length, so the vBoard software thought that you had entered a message of length zero.

Even a single character after the quote (a smiley, for instance), will get around that.

BTW this happens quite a bit because, depending on how your mouse works, if you click on quote but then try to delete an irrelevant part of the quote by highlighting and cutting, often the square bracket "[" in front of /quote gets deleted, too. Then you have to close the quote at the end by hand.

Another tip. After a quote, start the first sentence of your reply right after the /quote], with no space and on the same line. The reason for this is that the vBoard automatically skips a space after a quote, so if you skip a space, too, that will leave a gap of two spaces.

(signed) your friendly neighborhood Mathman

 

[Vash01]

I honestly think that skating needs a big story to once again bring it back in the limelight in the US, and I think the thing that could do it is if Michelle won the OGM. It would be the story of the olympics and the media could run with her for a long time. Plus she would gain superstardom in the US and endorsements alone would bring skating into the forefront of the average Americans mind. And if Michelle then went into promotional mode - through touring, commentating, made for TV specials featuring other skaters, well it would help the US skating market ALOT.

If skating needs a 'big story' a la Tonya-Nancy, it is a sad state of affairs. FS deserves to be recognized for what it is - a very difficult sport. Somehow the organization and the media are not doing a good job of selling it to the public as a sport. The media (mostly TV) are trying to sell it as -e.g. beautiful young women in scanty clothes, romance on ice, etc. If there are fluff pieces, they need to emphasize what kind of athletic ability is needed, compare it with other sports, and so on. Most important, as someone said, they need to show the full competition (or almost full), not just 4 skaters out of 40.

Vash

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

... an ESPN source as saying that the ratings indicate that "skating is dead" in the U.S. and the network will have to figure out ways to revive it. ESPN was unhappy about the live streaming video that was available.

I'm afraid the SLC scandal had more impact on the general public than we had thought. I would suggest an end to secret judging as the biggest step in getting back the general public's interest in figure skating. Otherwise I would suggest figure skating be shown on Saturday mornings amid the children's programming.

Joe

 

[mpal2]

Ok, I just wrote a really long letter to ESPN. I won't bore you with the whole thing, but here are my 10 points.

1. Put someone in charge who respects the SPORT and treats it like one.
2. Skating coverage is shown too far out from the competition. Time zone delays are acceptable. Days and weeks aren't.
3. Too much fluff. We should be able to see the top flight of skaters. The top 2 flights would be better.
4. The announcers do not have to talk nonstop. We do like to listen to the music too.
5. The stupid obnoxious beep when they do the news crawl across the bottom of the screen. (see point #4 regarding music).
6. When skating coverage is shown, it gets cut short if another sport went overtime.
7. Most people were not aware of the switch from ABC to ESPN and the butter and candy wrapper ads did not convey the sport aspect.
8. We want commentators to tell us the technical aspects of the sport and we do not want to see "The Great American Hype". There are skaters from other countries that we love.
9. Have they considered a PPV of the ENTIRE competition without commentary. Fans would kill to have that.
10. Speedy is killing the sport but apparently no one wants to do much about it. Try the other 9 suggestions and wait for his untimely demise.

Did I cover it all or do you have suggestions to add?

 

[brad640]

Way to go mpal! Especially #9. I think this is a great idea for many sports not just skating. I know I get 3 ESPN pay per view channels that had no programming during worlds. What a waste!

 

[Mathman]

Number two is the most important point for me. CBC had next day coverage of Worlds, and a few live broadcasts (I think they broke into curling to show Buttle's free skate live, LOL). Two hours every night. I watched every minute of it. Why would I waste my time watching a rerun on ESPN at the end of the week?

MM

 

[KwanFan1212]

Way to go Mel. Great points all around IMO. You rock!

And I vote Mel president of ESPN/ESPN2. I'll be her funny sidekick who pops up with some comic relief from time to time, like during a splatfest competition during commercial breaks, LOL