USFSA Reformatting Championships As Part Of NBC Deal

NBC To Air Ten Hours Of Ice Skating Annually As Part Of USFSA Deal

NBC and the U.S. Figure Skating Association (USFSA) announced during a teleconference yesterday that the network will offer ten hours of figure skating programming annually for the next three years. NBC replaces ABC/ESPN as the USFSA’s TV partner, and while the Disney nets paid an annual rights fee of $12M, NBC’s deal is a revenue-sharing arrangement. USFSA Exec Dir David Raith said he expects State Farm to continue to sponsor the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Raith added the new agreement will allow USFSA to increase its budget “shortly” (Tripp Mickle, SportsBusiness Journal). Raith expects the NBC deal “to produce enough revenue that his organization will not have to cut its operating budget.” USFSA TV consultant Eddie Einhorn added, “I am as proud of this deal as I was of the $12[M] rights fee” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/24).

PROMOTION: USFSA has reformatted the U.S. Figure Skating Championships so that four major finals are the last portion of the weekend. That will allow NBC to show the men and ladies live that weekend, including Saturday night primetime coverage of the ladies free skate. “The idea they have taken this event and radically reformatted it is terrific,” said NBC Universal Sports & Olympics Chair Dick Ebersol. “It’s almost like they created their own Final Four of figure skating.” When asked about ratings, Ebersol said he did not think there was a clear commitment to promote figure skating by ABC/ESPN. He added, “This is not an issue for us. The commitment to promotion is much more robust here” (Mickle, SBJ). Raith said NBC is going to “promote the heck out of this property in major shows in prime time. They want to help support their (2010) Winter Olympic coverage, and this shows they see figure skating as a way to do it. It reaffirms that figure skating is the No. 1 property in Winter Olympic sports.”

KWAN ONBOARD? In Chicago, Philip Hersh cites sources as saying that Michelle Kwan “could be part of the broadcast team” on NBC, noting her “potential appeal to younger audiences.” Kwan’s agent, Shep Goldberg, declined comment, while NBC VP/Strategic Marketing, Promotion & Communications Mike McCarley said, “We haven’t discussed talent yet” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/24).