ISU Fan Survey 2023

[clairecloutier]

The ISU is doing a fan survey. It's a chance to make your voice heard!!

You can find it here:

ISU Fan Survey 2023

ISU Fan Survey 2023.

survey.alchemer.eu

 

[Tinycities]

Thank you for sharing this! Definitely vocalized my displeasure at the streaming situations.

 

[Karen-W]

Thank you for sharing this! Definitely vocalized my displeasure at the streaming situations.

Same!

 

[love skating]

Thanks for sharing. I was a bit worried about the question of if you would pay to subscribe to a channel or pay per event. Sounds like more paying for us poor fans!

 

[Tinycities]

Thanks for sharing. I was a bit worried about the question of if you would pay to subscribe to a channel or pay per event. Sounds like more paying for us poor fans!

I wouldn’t be opposed to paying if it also included a full archive of all events. I wouldn’t pay to essentially ‘rent’ one event and not be able to rewatch or refer back to it. If they’re going to make some sort of platform, it better have a full archive.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

In my dream world that means that they are looking at hosting the archives for national level events. It would be nice if the ISU could archive and provide footage of figure skating in general from everywhere.

 

[thvu]

I like that they're seeking input from fans. Now, hopefully they publish a report of the results, but that's doubtful.

 

[tony]

I like that they're seeking input from fans. Now, hopefully they publish a report of the results, but that's doubtful.

I remember filling out a survey either a year or two ago ranting about how lame and terrible their social media presence was and how their website/navigation has needed an upgrade for at least 20 years. I don't think it was nearly as extensive as this but I certainly don't think they followed up with anything they read.

 

[On My Own]

I would hate to be among the interns who sift through the responses.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

The ISU is doing a fan survey. It's a chance to make your voice heard!!

You can find it here:

ISU Fan Survey 2023

ISU Fan Survey 2023.

survey.alchemer.eu

when it came to the part if one of my sport idols is a figure skater I course I put yes and put Angela down. Lol

I did give my two cents about having to pay for streams or having to watch things spread across three different networks some you have, some you don’t

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I would hate to be among the interns who sift through the responses.

especially when they come to the part where I put paragraphs and paragraphs of my opinion in

tee-hee

 

[myhoneyhoney]

Done. I hope they improve the accessibility of watching skating.

 

[MacMadame]

I filled it out but was annoyed that the only choices for paying to watch skating were subscription or pay-per-view. I put in the comments that there are too many free outlets for me to pay to watch skating.

 

[SkateGuard]

I remember filling out a survey either a year or two ago ranting about how lame and terrible their social media presence was.

I pointed out how tone deaf it was of their social team to put out content about a Russian athlete nominated for one of their Awards. Whoever OK’d that had no concept of reading the room. I also suggested they permanently shut off the chat section on their live streams and allocated resources towards historical/archival content. They aren’t even doing the bare minimum in that area these days.

 

[clairecloutier]

I'm a little puzzled by the expectation that all skating content should be free? I mean, it costs money to produce videos or streams. They don't materialize on their own. And you can't always rely on TV networks subsidizing the cost by paying rights fees.

Right now in the U.S., I feel like the only real viewing options are 1) Livestreams from Challengers/senior Bs, which are sometimes free and sometimes not; 2) Peacock (much less attractive w/out reliable replays); 3) Use VPN to watch ISU streams.

If we had a comprehensive streaming service that worked and provided replays, l'd be willing to pay a reasonable amount for it (and would drop the VPN).

 

[tony]

I'm a little puzzled by the expectation that all skating content should be free? I mean, it costs money to produce videos or streams. They don't materialize on their own. And you can't always rely on TV networks subsidizing the cost by paying rights fees.

Right now in the U.S., I feel like the only real viewing options are 1) Livestreams from Challengers/senior Bs, which are sometimes free and sometimes not; 2) Peacock (much less attractive w/out reliable replays); 3) Use VPN to watch ISU streams.

If we had a comprehensive streaming service that worked and provided replays, l'd be willing to pay a reasonable amount for it (and would drop the VPN).

Yup, the ISU could make a fortune off many of us if they would just have one comprehensive place for all the events, and also start loading historical events where entire fields were never shown but surely they have archives of much of it. And then they don't have to worry about policing YouTube all the time.

We all paid what, $60 or $70 for IceNetwork and that was very limited in scope compared to what the ISU would have rights over.

I have Netflix, Hulu, Paramount+, and Peacock that I pay for monthly, and I get HBOMax for free. I'd surely be willing to pay $10-$15 or whatever a month for a very comprehensive skating library rather than having to go download and keep external hard drives of everything, which in itself takes time to load up and watch. Streaming would be

 

[MacMadame]

We all paid what, $60 or $70 for IceNetwork and that was very limited in scope compared to what the ISU would have rights over.

We all didn't. Some did.

I think providing a streaming feed should be part of the costs of putting on an event and can be paid for in any number of ways. It doesn't have to be paid service. It could be sponsored. It could be factored into the cost of tickets. It could be considered a loss-leader by the ISU and come out of the general budget.

 

[tony]

We all didn't. Some did.

I think providing a streaming feed should be part of the costs of putting on an event and can be paid for in any number of ways. It doesn't have to be paid service. It could be sponsored. It could be factored into the cost of tickets. It could be considered a loss-leader by the ISU and come out of the general budget.

For all the people complaining about the lack of sustainable streaming/disappearing videos/USFS numbers going down/audiences not being full, why wouldn't a one-stop international competition feed (and maybe even national if the ISU wants to venture into that) be worth it?

And the people in the US who didn't pay for IceNetwork, that's on them. And yes, I saw certain posters constantly complaining that pirated streams were not available for said events during those days.

People pay $45 for a year of FSU to often discuss said live events, yet this year many of them are not easily available to watch after the fact and to discuss afterwards. Archived events that have disappeared from YouTube and historical footage that was never shown (earlier groups of Worlds, etc) could also be part of the incentive. I don't think the entire mens event from 1988 Calgary was available until the Olympic Channel/IOC put it up a few years ago, etc. I don't see any reason why fans wouldn't pay for that. If they don't, then I guess they can keep complaining?

 

[Andrea82]

I asked for a working live result page for Golden Spin.

 

[skategal]

I hope someone from FSU wins the prize draw.

 

[On My Own]

I wouldn't mind paying - as long as I can keep the event afterwards. Don't want it to vanish after time's up.

Don't know if I'd want a season-long pay? Keep it up to 5 dollars per event maybe (1 dollar for small events, 2.5 for GP events, 5 for the championships), IDK if I'd want to pay, say, 30 dollars for the entire season when I don't necessarily have the time to watch all, and rarely go back for events I miss.

Archiving/historical footage sounds amazing too.

 

[once_upon]

I wouldn't mind paying - as long as I can keep the event afterwards. Don't want it to vanish after time's up.

Don't know if I'd want a season-long pay? Keep it up to 5 dollars per event maybe (1 dollar for small events, 2.5 for GP events, 5 for the championships), IDK if I'd want to pay, say, 30 dollars for the entire season when I don't necessarily have the time to watch all, and rarely go back for events I miss.

Archiving/historical footage sounds amazing too.

But 2.5 for one GP event is probably not worth it. Unless it is 2.5 per each Discipline short program and 2.5 per each Discipline long.

I'm sorry @MacMadame - if artists need to be compensated for music used, ISU and other streaming networks need to be compensated for their programming.

I tried to do questionnaire but either my internet cut me off or my answers got submitted without telling me thank you.

 

[Karen-W]

I'd be willing to pay for a season pass of a streaming service from the ISU if it included the ISU Championships, GP, JGP, GPF/JGPF and Challengers. Sometimes I get a chance to watch other B competitions (I was streaming Tallink Hotels this morning, lol), but not always.

I'd love it if there was some legal way to access streams for Nationals competitions if the feds aren't able to offer that access outside their own countries (JSF, USFS, Italy, Korea, etc).

 

[MacMadame]

I asked for a working live result page for Golden Spin.

At US Nationals, we had a live scoring page! It was awesome. I was hoping it would exist for 4CC since USFS was putting it one but, alas, it was not to be.

As for the ISU doing streaming and whether or not people would pay for it, people have different needs. Some people never watch Juniors. Some watch everything ISU including Challengers while some only watch the championships (Worlds, Euros, 4CCs) plus their own Nationals. Some people go back and re-watch programs over and over and some don't

For me, I like watching competitions as they happen or very soon afterward. I don't go back. I don't even watch this year's comps if I miss them the weekend they happen and don't pick them up within a few days after. The thrill of watching a competition unfold isn't there at that point with the results everywhere and having been discussed to death.

So that sort of service isn't as expensive as the one @tony wants. And IMO the ISU has a vested interest in getting people to watch its competitions so using it as a loss leader makes sense to me.

 

[tony]

At US Nationals, we had a live scoring page! It was awesome. I was hoping it would exist for 4CC since USFS was putting it one but, alas, it was not to be.

That's not new. It's been around on and off for quite a few years, and it definitely was around during the 2018 Nationals.

As for the ISU doing streaming and whether or not people would pay for it, people have different needs. Some people never watch Juniors. Some watch everything ISU including Challengers while some only watch the championships (Worlds, Euros, 4CCs) plus their own Nationals. Some people go back and re-watch programs over and over and some don't

For me, I like watching competitions as they happen or very soon afterward. I don't go back. I don't even watch this year's comps if I miss them the weekend they happen and don't pick them up within a few days after. The thrill of watching a competition unfold isn't there at that point with the results everywhere and having been discussed to death.

But you aren't everyone else, and as you say, everyone has different needs- so why not throw all of those needs into one easy source rather than have the constant complaining about how hard it is to watch skating now? I think the majority of people here and around the skating internet seem to have a big problem with no replay capabilities and the lack of skating that is still available on YouTube from the last 5 or so seasons. A lot of people like to revisit competitions way after the fact and places like FSVids were wildly popular before everything started being streamed/saved/on YouTube. Most people here seem to have at least gone into this season paying at least $5 a month for Peacock, which doesn't even have the majority of events in the year.

If they do come up with an all-encompassing service, I bet it's going to be popular enough that it does well and expands. And why can't they add more content like explaining the rules or the elements or the scoring system and having official ISU (long) interviews and features on said channel? It doesn't have to be limited to a set of skating events throughout a season.

If one doesn't want to pay for such a theoretical service, it's on them. But just like if you wanted to watch ESPN2 in many markets way back in the day you had to pay extra, and just like IceNetwork and Peacock now, and just like the smaller international events that charge for a weekend of streaming service, and just like people have to pay extra to follow live competition discussions here or have access to the full board, you either will do it or you'll miss out.

 

[once_upon]

At US Nationals, we had a live scoring page! It was awesome. I was hoping it would exist for 4CC since USFS was putting it one but, alas, it was not to be.

As for the ISU doing streaming and whether or not people would pay for it, people have different needs. Some people never watch Juniors. Some watch everything ISU including Challengers while some only watch the championships (Worlds, Euros, 4CCs) plus their own Nationals. Some people go back and re-watch programs over and over and some don't

For me, I like watching competitions as they happen or very soon afterward. I don't go back. I don't even watch this year's comps if I miss them the weekend they happen and don't pick them up within a few days after. The thrill of watching a competition unfold isn't there at that point with the results everywhere and having been discussed to death.

So that sort of service isn't as expensive as the one @tony wants. And IMO the ISU has a vested interest in getting people to watch its competitions so using it as a loss leader makes sense to me.

But your argument for the House of the Rising Sun indie musicians needed to be paid for their music and not be glad they were getting exposure.

The ISU or whatever streaming service is producing a product. They should be compensated for producing and providing a platform to show that product. Not be excited to have viewers or exposure.

Any streaming service monthly fee or annual fee will be significantly less than trying to buy tickets for live events and any associated costs.

 

[MacMadame]

But you aren't everyone else, and as you say, everyone has different needs- so why not throw all of those needs into one easy source rather than have the constant complaining about how hard it is to watch skating now?

Of course, none of us is everyone else. But the service you are describing sounds expensive to maintain which means a subscription will be pricy. That's going to cut some people out. Probably more people than want to just see all of the comps live-ish.

A lot of us get Peacock for free (it's bundled in with many cable services) and I think free is a good price for watching competitions live with no replay whereas what you describe seems like way more than a $5 / month service.

The other issue with such a service is that many people watch skating starting in Sept or Oct and stop after Worlds. People already subscribe to Peacock in Oct. for Skate America and unsub after Worlds or the WTT. But this service will have costs all year round. So that's a problem they have to solve.

In the end, I don't think any of this matters because I honestly don't see the ISU doing any of this. They get too much money from broadcasters still. Maybe in another 5 years when no one wants to pay for the rights to any of it, they will be motivated to start their own service.


Btw, I don't complain about how hard it is to watch skating now. [Or at least I didn't when there were replays.] I think it's incredibly easy to watch skating now and watch a lot more than was ever shown on network tv in the US. And I can watch it on my tv and not a little computer screen! Until the issues last year with replays and stuff disappearing, I felt like we were in a mecca time period when it comes to figure skating coverage. And it's still not bad even without replays on Peacock.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

The theoretical ISU archive doesn't have to exclude the existing broadcasts done at the national levels. It would just be nice if those broadcast companies couldn't claim all rights to it forever in that country. Especially when they never bother to show the whole competition. It couldn't be that hard to craft a section about archival rights belonging to figure skating. It would probably have to be commentary free streams in that case which is fine with me. I have no problem with broadcast companies maintaining their rights to streams with commentators they have provided. The ISU provided commentary should of course be archived without issue.

 

[overedge]

Interesting that for the questions on "which games would you like to play online" and "which of these advertisers do you recognize" there was no option for "none of the above".....

 

[Karen-W]

Interesting that for the questions on "which games would you like to play online" and "which of these advertisers do you recognize" there was no option for "none of the above".....

Surely you recognized some of the advertisers!