Promoting figure skating

moriel said:

Also, that counts for tourists.
For example, it is way more interesting, cheap and easy to travel to a FS competition that is located at a major touristic destination.
the access is easier, there are other things to do, better infrastructure and so on.

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Agreed! Infrastructure is key. I was happy when they heard they were putting SA one year in Chicago, only to find out it was in Hoffman Estates and not the inner city. Traveling to a strange (to me) place where I would have to play with Google Maps just to get to the venue is not appealing. Or when SC 2016 was held in the Toronto area, they chose Mississauga which isn't easy to get to unless you drove. Even then, the traffic in Toronto is a nightmare and who wants to deal with that while on holiday? Boston did it right by placing it at TD Garden, which is served by a train station right at the arena and was in the inner city. Notice it was sold out or close to capacity in 2016 worlds.

Also, they should do Groupon-type deals for those who can't always spend the $$$$$ to attend. I love a Groupon promo.

glorybox6 said:

As other posters have noted, I think it’s very telling how there have been two major figure skating pop culture moments over the past year - YOI and I Tonya - that USFS clearly won’t touch with a 10 foot pole. ...

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I guess you missed that Ice Network (affiliated with USFS) published a full article re Yuri on Ice:

[I don't remember for sure, but I think maybe Skating magazine (USFS publication) also had a small item re Joe Johnson's fandom related to Yuri on Ice?]

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Alifyre said:

... What's been the biggest difficulty for me for getting into FS is the cost. I live in NYS, but I couldn't go to Skate America because between the transport, hotels, AND tickets ($25 per session in crappy seats, or $125 for all sessions was the cheapest option) I just couldn't put forward the money. I know the sport needs revenue, but they are going to strangle themselves by charging this much money. Young people in general don't have that kind of cash, period. If they want to keep charging that much, at least American competitions need to be in more accessible cities. It was literally a hundred dollars cheaper for me to visit family in NYC than the potential ticket to go to Lake Placid. They would have a much easier time hyping up events that weren't in the middle of nowhere (and I say that as an upstater). ...

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Playing devil's advocate:

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Alex D said:

I don´t know enough about the skating in the US, like structure of the federation, clubs and so on. I only know that some skaters share ice with non skaters and some I believe don´t have a roof... I saw Gracie on an ice rink without, but this might be years ago...

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Don't understand what your issue is with outdoor rinks.

I wouldn't expect Max Aaron or Mirai Nagasu or any of my favorite international competitors to base their full-time training at an outdoor rink.

But if we're talking about getting the public interested in participating in the sport, it is lots of fun to skate outdoors.
And if kids (or adults) fall in love with the sport by skating on an outdoor rink -- and then their recreational skating on outdoor rinks leads them to tune in to skating on the Olympic Channel or NBC ... or to buy tickets to Skate America or Nationals -- what the heck is wrong with that??

As for seeing Gracie skate outdoors, perhaps you saw her skate outdoors for a show? (And/or rehearsing for an outdoor show?) For example:


Plenty of Team USA skaters also give back to the community and promote the sport by taking part in public skating events at outdoor rinks.
I think they should be applauded for doing so.

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glorybox6 said:

If USFS publicly aplogized to Tonya (or at least lifted their ban which is basically symbolic at this point) it would be huge huge huge PR win for US skating IMO (though I can also see how they’d be concerned with distracting from the current skaters at nationals so I guess anything along these lines is a non-starter at this point).

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USFS does not owe any apology to Tonya.

anyanka said:

Agreed! Infrastructure is key. I was happy when they heard they were putting SA one year in Chicago, only to find out it was in Hoffman Estates and not the inner city. Traveling to a strange (to me) place where I would have to play with Google Maps just to get to the venue is not appealing. Or when SC 2016 was held in the Toronto area, they chose Mississauga which isn't easy to get to unless you drove. Even then, the traffic in Toronto is a nightmare and who wants to deal with that while on holiday? Boston did it right by placing it at TD Garden, which is served by a train station right at the arena and was in the inner city. Notice it was sold out or close to capacity in 2016 worlds.

Also, they should do Groupon-type deals for those who can't always spend the $$$$$ to attend. I love a Groupon promo.

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FWIW, they've done a few deals with Travel Zoo. I got great deals for Nationals Men's and Ice Dance short through a Travel Zoo promotion.

VegMom said:

I think this pretty princess thing is dangerous. I think in order for the sport to move forward they have to drop the princess stuff. A coach recently told me, and I think she's right, that figure skating is losing a lot of girls to hockey. But hockey is not losing boys to figure skating. That needs to change. Both boys and girls who like ice skating should not feel like they have to conform to stiff gender roles to participate in ice sports.

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As a former women's rugby player, I can say a lot of girls entered the sport because they felt that other sports were too gender rigid (lacrosse, soccer, etc). And guess what? A lot of the girls on my team also played hockey in the winter. In this modern era, the stigma against breaking gender/sexuality norms really needs to go. People are always on about how skating should be artistic and expressive -- but how can one be an artist without being true to themselves? While certainly yes some young people find their truth in traditional femininity or masculinity, plenty more do not. If skating hopes to continue its draw as a sport that combines athleticism AND artistry, there needs to be a greater embracing of the true diversity of personalities and people in the sport.

anyanka said:

I wonder if putting competitions in major centers and promoting the heck out of tickets in urban areas would be an easy short-term way to re-engage people. Putting the competition in say Lake Placid makes something like SA cost prohibitive. But if they sold out the worlds in Boston in 2016, they can certainly put events in Madison Square Garden in New York, or in other major centres like Chicago, LA, Seattle, Dallas, SF etc. The USFSA could promote through packaged tickets that won't cost hundreds of dollars, but at a price where a large concentration of people could get to easily, and hopefully attract tourists too. I think worlds in LA in 2009 sold well too. Right now it has to reach a level where it's got major public attention ... but people have to NOT change the channel or think "I'm not watching figure skating!" when there are other sports viewing options.

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This so much!! I'd be very interested to see the sales rate between last years SA, in Chicago, versus this year in LP. I am willing to bet that Chicago had a much higher attendance rate. Why? You can fly direct into Chicago. If you don't have a car or are foreign, getting to a place like LP is a nightmare. With rates of driving and car ownership dropping among young people, event organizers need to be cognizant of accessibility for non-driving individuals. Also, I would go to Chicago anyways as a tourist! Lake Placid, not so much. I wonder why we don't see Skate America being put in NYC? (Or if space there isn't affordable, at least like Buffalo, which at the very least has an international airport and Niagara falls as an additional tourist pull).

ice coverage said:

Playing devil's advocate:

I did not find the $25 seats at Skate America in Lake Placid to be "crappy."
Herb Brooks Arena is small enough that the $25 seats had a reasonable view and intimate feel, IMO.

If you are serious about finding a way to see live skating:

For volunteering at Skate America, USFS gave me free tickets to two of the five sessions in Lake Placid. And free access to all practices (except gala practice, which was closed to everyone).
I did not have any previous experience in volunteering at any skating event (not even a small local comp anywhere). All I had to do was submit the application to volunteer -- and USFS gave me an assignment ... plus the perks.​

I don't know whether you had the advantage of being able to stay with your family in NYC??
In any case, it is hard for me to believe that hotel costs in NYC in general would be lower than in Lake Placid.​

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While I was able to stay with my family in the city, the amtrak tickets to LP were really what kept me from going. They were sky-high prices, and required a number of transfers (and I live in the state! Imagine how bad it would be for others not in NYS). And while I think the option of volunteering is a great one, I was not aware of it until after the fact, and I think if we're thinking about how to get new fans into the sport telling them to volunteer isn't really gonna cut it. A casual fan getting their feet wet who wants to see something live would probably be spooked by such a large commitment. Yes, perhaps $125 a ticket is fair, but after transportation costs and to a town with very little to do? Eh.

Also, who's idea was it to put SA on Thanksgiving weekend? The biggest travel time of the year, and with many people having family obligations to boot

@Manitou Yes! Thats what my friend pointed out. Figure skaters dont seem to make a lot of money like most other pro athletes. It looks to me like they have to find sponsors and do ice shows to supplement their incomes. Meanwhile the skater must have $900 boots, pay for expensive coaches, perhaps have several residences, and im sure many other expenses!

Mrs. P said:

FWIW, they've done a few deals with Travel Zoo. I got great deals for Nationals Men's and Ice Dance short through a Travel Zoo promotion.

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I haven't seen those up here in Canada, but I have seen the Groupons for Stars on Ice tours, which is offered every year. I'll keep a look out for those up north!

This is actually a very interesting topic!

In Spain we've duplicated the number of ice rinks in 5 years —from 7 to more than 17 plus a lot of temporary ice rinks (10 just in Madrid) in the winter. Why? Well, obviously, because we've got Javier Fernández.
People are drawn to success. If they feel like they can connect to someone who is winning, then they like it. Look at Yuzuru's success, Yuna Kim, etc.
I think this is why having more competitions (and thus, more diversity of winners) helps towards keeping people's interest. Then again, maybe football and golf are not the best examples —gymnastics or synchro swimming have more to do with the kind of competition figure skating has, and those aren't the most popular either.

It also has to do with money, of course. Someone gets to the top ranks, so they get money, and promotions, and so people are more willing to invest. Funds from the government to sports in general, more balanced academic/sport programs, etc. Scholarships — probably in this aspect the USA wins compared to my country.

Then...marketing, yeah, it does a lot. Not just toward the sport itself but about anything sport related.
In Japan they show a lot of fluff relates to the skaters whenever there's a competition. I don't really like that strategy, but it works in order to get people emotionally invested in the sport, and that's the goal.
Viral culture on one hand is effective, on the other is fast. Fast to get people's interest, and even faster to lose it.

And yeah, famous athletes gestures also drag a lot of people in!

Alifyre said:

As a former women's rugby player, I can say a lot of girls entered the sport because they felt that other sports were too gender rigid (lacrosse, soccer, etc). And guess what? A lot of the girls on my team also played hockey in the winter. In this modern era, the stigma against breaking gender/sexuality norms really needs to go. People are always on about how skating should be artistic and expressive -- but how can one be an artist without being true to themselves? While certainly yes some young people find their truth in traditional femininity or masculinity, plenty more do not. If skating hopes to continue its draw as a sport that combines athleticism AND artistry, there needs to be a greater embracing of the true diversity of personalities and people in the sport.

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Yes, this! I noticed that too, which may be why there is a drop in skating's popularity, at least on this side of the pond. I do love the diversity and how women athletes don't feel boxed into previous roles based on preconceived notions. And figure skating is NOT delicate, it's tough to make something look that easy!

This so much!! I'd be very interested to see the sales rate between last years SA, in Chicago, versus this year in LP. I am willing to bet that Chicago had a much higher attendance rate. Why? You can fly direct into Chicago. If you don't have a car or are foreign, getting to a place like LP is a nightmare. With rates of driving and car ownership dropping among young people, event organizers need to be cognizant of accessibility for non-driving individuals. Also, I would go to Chicago anyways as a tourist! Lake Placid, not so much. I wonder why we don't see Skate America being put in NYC? (Or if space there isn't affordable, at least like Buffalo, which at the very least has an international airport and Niagara falls as an additional tourist pull).

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I would have gone to LP before Lyudmila Belousova passed on, if only to see them in person and skate and tell them they're amazing, but...they know that already without my saying so!

anyanka said:

They used to in the US! Consider Michelle Kwan made millions even before she competed in Nagano for the first time. The other stars did well too, think of (and this goes back decades now) Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, Nancy Kerrigan, Tara Lipinski, Kristi Yamaguchi. It also worked for expat skaters too, Katya Gordeeva was quite famous in the 90s and when she went on Oprah, it was one of the highest-rated shows on daytime television IIRC (Katya also sold out ice shows and had two best selling books in the US too). Oksana Baiul famously became a star in Lillehammer and was the classic rags-to-riches story who made most of her money in America after winning OGM 1994.

I didn't agree with you on other posts but I certainly agree with you on this, I WANT the skaters to do well, regardless of nation!

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I might be wrong, but I think a key to bringing more money is to remove the national attachments. Make it purely international, even pairs or dance teams should be allowed to be international. Make skaters qualify themselves for big events, extend Grand Prix, implement live ranking and Grand Slam system, make the skaters shed their blood and sweat for us. No snowflakes, no complaining, no depressions, just keep competing. I am sure going into that direction will increase attractiveness and bring more money and coverage.

You know, the discipline itself is already very attractive: a combination of extreme athleticism, art, dance and music, very emotional and expressive, and competitive at the same time. It couldn't be any better. The problem is this terribly stiff, formal and ancient structure.

Mussique said:

This is actually a very interesting topic!

In Spain we've duplicated the number of ice rinks in 5 years —from 7 to more than 17 plus a lot of temporary ice rinks (10 just in Madrid) in the winter. Why? Well, obviously, because we've got Javier Fernández.
People are drawn to success. If they feel like they can connect to someone who is winning, then they like it. Look at Yuzuru's success, Yuna Kim, etc.
I think this is why having more competitions (and thus, more diversity of winners) helps towards keeping people's interest. Then again, maybe football and golf are not the best examples —gymnastics or synchro swimming have more to do with the kind of competition figure skating has, and those aren't the most popular either.

It also has to do with money, of course. Someone gets to the top ranks, so they get money, and promotions, and so people are more willing to invest. Funds from the government to sports in general, more balanced academic/sport programs, etc. Scholarships — probably in this aspect the USA wins compared to my country.

Then...marketing, yeah, it does a lot. Not just toward the sport itself but about anything sport related.
In Japan they show a lot of fluff relates to the skaters whenever there's a competition. I don't really like that strategy, but it works in order to get people emotionally invested in the sport, and that's the goal.
Viral culture on one hand is effective, on the other is fast. Fast to get people's interest, and even faster to lose it.

And yeah, famous athletes gestures also drag a lot of people in!

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Great to hear that el patinaje artistico has become muy popular en Espana!

One thing to note about the fluff: there used to be a LOT of fluff back in the day on US TV. Just look for clips on YouTube on the many, MANY clips devoted to the likes of Michelle, Kristi, Tara, Todd, etc. They also used to show the European championships on NBC and they also interviewed a lot of Russians, like Grishuk and Platov, Anjelika & Oleg, G&G, but I think a lot of that had to do with the Russian migration of competitors to the US for training after the USSR collapsed. Check out the clips and watch them in ugly sweaters and adorable English.

Mussique said:

This is actually a very interesting topic!

In Spain we've duplicated the number of ice rinks in 5 years —from 7 to more than 17 plus a lot of temporary ice rinks (10 just in Madrid) in the winter. Why? Well, obviously, because we've got Javier Fernández.
People are drawn to success. If they feel like they can connect to someone who is winning, then they like it. Look at Yuzuru's success, Yuna Kim, etc.
I think this is why having more competitions (and thus, more diversity of winners) helps towards keeping people's interest. Then again, maybe football and golf are not the best examples —gymnastics or synchro swimming have more to do with the kind of competition figure skating has, and those aren't the most popular either.

It also has to do with money, of course. Someone gets to the top ranks, so they get money, and promotions, and so people are more willing to invest. Funds from the government to sports in general, more balanced academic/sport programs, etc. Scholarships — probably in this aspect the USA wins compared to my country.

Then...marketing, yeah, it does a lot. Not just toward the sport itself but about anything sport related.
In Japan they show a lot of fluff relates to the skaters whenever there's a competition. I don't really like that strategy, but it works in order to get people emotionally invested in the sport, and that's the goal.
Viral culture on one hand is effective, on the other is fast. Fast to get people's interest, and even faster to lose it.

And yeah, famous athletes gestures also drag a lot of people in!

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Thats great to hear.

Where i live its difficult to ice skate. Our rink doubles as a convention center. We only have ice rink a few months out of the year, and for several weeks its covered up bc of other events. We no longer have a semi pro hockey team. Temps here dont usually get below 30, mostly hovering in the 50s and 60s in winter. There are no frozen over ponds or cornfields.

Many places in usa and many places in the world dont have rinks or ice.

sinnerspinner said:

Thats great to hear.

Where i live its difficult to ice skate. Our rink doubles as a convention center. We only have ice rink a few months out of the year, and for several weeks its covered up bc of other events. We no longer have a semi pro hockey team. Temps here dont usually get below 30, mostly hovering in the 50s and 60s in winter. There are no frozen over ponds or cornfields.

Many places in usa and many places in the world dont have rinks or ice.

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My first thought with this is that the fed really needs to build on the existing popularity of winter sports in the north, where we do get cold and every kid gets taken to the ice rink as a child. I never took lessons, but I took a number of skating field trips as a little, because that's just something you do in the winter! I feel like more could be done to bring in casual skaters up north, which could then generate overall interest in the sport to spread south.

However, my second thought is: the NHL has teams all over the country, so we know there's gotta be professional-grade rinks in most major cities, even in the south. I would imagine that having an NHL team in a city would draw children to those rinks or rinks nearby -- so why not target some of those kids as well? Also, I think just having USFS media up in those rinks would be good for us. I didn't even know there was such a thing as actual televised events for FS outside of the olympics until a few years ago. I'd be willing to bet most Americans aren't even aware of the GP series, and don't know when worlds are. Putting that info up in spaces for people already interested in winter sports could go a long way.

Manitou said:

I might be wrong, but I think a key to bringing more money is to remove the national attachments. Make it purely international, even pairs or dance teams should be allowed to be international. Make skaters qualify themselves for big events, extend Grand Prix, implement live ranking and Grand Slam system, make the skaters shed their blood and sweat for us. No snowflakes, no complaining, no depressions, just keep competing. I am sure going into that direction will increase attractiveness and bring more money and coverage.
.

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I'd love to see something like the tennis Grand Slams implemented for figure skating. Establish a series of major competitions in a few countries like Japan, US, Canada, and Russia so that all the top skaters can compete against each other more often. Figure skating has many international stars but very little is being done to leverage their popularity. Hanyu is the biggest star in skating but he's hardly ever competed in the US.

Manitou said:

I might be wrong, but I think a key to bringing more money is to remove the national attachments. Make it purely international, even pairs or dance teams should be allowed to be international. Make skaters qualify themselves for big events, extend Grand Prix, implement live ranking and Grand Slam system, make the skaters shed their blood and sweat for us. No snowflakes, no complaining, no depressions, just keep competing. I am sure going into that direction will increase attractiveness and bring more money and coverage.

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I agree! I think one way to put figure skating out of a dead end is to professionalize this sport. Instead of the current rigid selection of nationals, Europeans/4CC, world championships with a set number of spots awarded per country, competitors should earn their spots to major competitions based on world rankings and personal bests through the challenger and grand prix series, potentially nationals, continental and more competitions. Right now, the world ranking is pretty much useless that nobody cares about. The format of competitions can also be changed to make it more interesting than the current linear way of watching all competitors performing their programs one after the other. Maybe adding some oppositions and elimination during the competition would be more interesting; e.g two groups of 6 competitors, the last two of each group will be eliminated after the first round, the first two of each group will enter the final round, and the middle two of each group will compete against each other again in one group to fight for the remaining two spots in the final round.

Obviously, the problem is to find big sponsors and award bigger prize money to competitors. It's also worth investing more on PR such as inviting royalties and celebrities to attend competitions and producing some kinds of reality shows with some harmless drama to make this sport appear more attractive to the general public.

At one end:
I'd like to see a TV series (or series of movies) made by people who understand the sport, finding some highly skilled skaters in their 20s (former competitors or skaters who liked performing more than competing) who can also act, and/or professional actors who believably look like they could skate along with skating doubles, showing intrigues set at a training center and following some of the skaters to competitions. Probably the plots would have to be pretty soap operish, with some humor. But basically realistic, with only minor exaggeration.

Or else a show about skaters (or coaches, or judges) who fight crime in between their skating jobs.

Probably a focus on young adult elite competitors would be best. Real not-so-elite skaters might get to be extras.

If people watch for the stories, they can come to understand the sport along the way.



On the other end, I'd like to see USFS reach out to audiences who might be watching casually and don't have a clue about where to start in terms of trying to skate themselves or trying to find opportunities to watch live skating both elite and not-so-elite (e.g., sectionals, the SLC Challenger event). Make little minimally produced ads to run during broadcasts to alert audiences to upcoming live events that 1) might be elite enough to be worth traveling to or 2) would be worth attending if you happen to live nearby.

Also something about how to subscribe to IceNetwork (and make that technologically more accessible and reliable), and something about how to find your nearest skating club to take lessons or volunteer.

Make the sport seem friendly and welcoming rather than assuming most viewers just want sit on their couch and enjoy the pretty skating.

Of course the majority of viewers never will make it to a live event or a local club or choose to watch skating online instead of on TV. But even those who don't will be aware that the options exist. And some viewers who never knew they could get involved now will, and tell their friends, etc.

Alifyre said:

... I'd be very interested to see the sales rate between last years SA, in Chicago, versus this year in LP. I am willing to bet that Chicago had a much higher attendance rate. ...

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Alifyre said:

... If you don't have a car or are foreign, getting to a place like LP is a nightmare. ...

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2016 Skate America was in Hoffmann Estates, Illinois.
My understanding is that Hoffman Estates is something like 30 miles outside of Chicago, and that a car for 2016 Skate America was a necessity. (I did not attend.)

My personal experience in 2017 was that it was not a nightmare to get to Lake Placid (from NYC) without a car. It was very do-able.
(And BTW, it was very do-able to spend the week in Lake Placid without a car.)

2014 Skate America also was held in Hoffman Estates. Per USFS, it drew "more than 17,000 spectators."

Per USFS, 2017 Skate America in Lake Placid "attracted 21,162 spectators."

I did not readily find 2016 Skate America attendance stats from USFS.

FWIW, below are attendance estimates from http://www.iceskatingintnl.com/ for 2017 Skate America in Lake Placid vs. 2016 Skate America in Hoffmann Estates:


Personal note: For me, the history of the Olympic venue of Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid added to my enjoyment of attending Skate America.

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Alifyre said:

... I wonder why we don't see Skate America being put in NYC? ...

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My speculation:

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Alifyre said:

... And while I think the option of volunteering is a great one, I was not aware of it until after the fact, and I think if we're thinking about how to get new fans into the sport telling them to volunteer isn't really gonna cut it. A casual fan getting their feet wet who wants to see something live would probably be spooked by such a large commitment. ...

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For the record, volunteering was not "such a large commitment."

For me, it was only one afternoon -- barely more than three hours.

(In addition to the tickets and access to practices, another perk was a Skate America jacket that I already have worn several times since.)

anyanka said:

Check out the clips and watch them in ugly sweaters and adorable English.

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On the topic: if ISU can organize livestreaming of JGP on youtube(and even free for all), why they can't do the same with senior GP and other tournaments? They could monetize it by adding some kind of subscriptions or something like that. We've got so much streaming services available, why not use any of them to make it more accessible for everyone who want to watch it?
This is also becoming more relevant even for Russia, because Match TV decided not to cover GP.

The simple reason is, if they make it available for free on youtube, then NO TV network will pay for the rights. Including Japan, where there is currently a large market.

The best skating, which is what will bring in new fans, is exactly the only thing that most countries networks will pay for.

Making the skating available to viewers for free on youtube would mean no more TV money coming in. Monetizing youtube would not make up for the loss of that income.

It would also make skating less accessible to casual viewers who might like to sit on their couches and watch TV with their families or friends (without paying anything) but don't have the means to hook up their TVs to the Internet.

It would be less likely that a casual viewer would say "Let's see what's on TV tonight" and find skating.

It would be more accessible to young people and lonely people who watch more media on handheld devices than on TVs, to tech-savvy people and rich people who have set up means to watch Internet content on large screens, and people who are already skating fans and go out of their way to seek out ways to watch skating.

If and when those populations significantly outnumber people who forget about skating most of the year but remember when the TV listings tell them it's on, and advertisers are willing to pay more for Internet ads than for broadcast ads, then and only then would it be financially viable for a federation to make its content available for free to viewers online. We're not at that point yet.

gkelly said:

The simple reason is, if they make it available for free on youtube, then NO TV network will pay for the rights. Including Japan, where there is currently a large market.

The best skating, which is what will bring in new fans, is exactly the only thing that most countries networks will pay for.

Making the skating available to viewers for free on youtube would mean no more TV money coming in. Monetizing youtube would not make up for the loss of that income.

It would also make skating less accessible to casual viewers who might like to sit on their couches and watch TV with their families or friends (without paying anything) but don't have the means to hook up their TVs to the Internet.

It would be less likely that a casual viewer would say "Let's see what's on TV tonight" and find skating.

It would be more accessible to young people and lonely people who watch more media on handheld devices than on TVs, to tech-savvy people and rich people who have set up means to watch Internet content on large screens, and people who are already skating fans and go out of their way to seek out ways to watch skating.

If and when those populations significantly outnumber people who forget about skating most of the year but remember when the TV listings tell them it's on, and advertisers are willing to pay more for Internet ads than for broadcast ads, then and only then would it be financially viable for a federation to make its content available for free to viewers online. We're not at that point yet.

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That wasn't exactly my point. Sorry, my english is poor. What i'm trying to say is that they can make it available as a paid content on youtube or other streaming service, so people don't have to pay to icenetwork or other crappy services. If people have some TV channels where they can watch FS - that's good, it would be yet another way to watch it. But if people don't have such channels - they could watch it on youtube for example. Youtube has an app for almost any platform, this includes most of the Smart TVs, so even if people like to watch something on TV - they can do it.

That's a good point.
BUT you're not going to pull in any broke or near-broke fans that way. There's no way that people would pay for something if they don't know if they'd like it, and there's no way that people would pay for something if they can't.