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The news that a bunch of figure skating videos are being taken down from YouTube really saddens me, and I wish whoever is responsible (and maybe it’s multiple people) would realize the impact it has on the sport.
The way people watch things is changing and has been changing for some time. I became a figure skating fan through a YouTube video of Johnny Weir skating to Poker Face, and I was able to further my like of figure skating by finding and watch more videos of programs and competitions. I was able to watch the US National Championships the following year because I was home and we had access to NBC, which broadcasts the figure skating competitions here in the US. But that isn’t always the case.
In grad school I didn’t have good access to a TV or the time to sit down and watch competitions live, because they’re long. The times where I’ve had work are also times where I haven’t been able to watch the competitions live. I was lucky to be able to see the Olympics live this past year, but in 2014 that wasn’t the case except for the men’s short and women’s team events.
Consider this: drawing attention to a sport requires the participation of young people. Figure skating is a young sport – the participants are young, often younger than me (I’m 26) and a lot of the fans watching them are also young. But young people don’t have access to cable or televisions, or can’t pay for live-streaming often. And with figure skating, unlike a lot of other sports, it’s very hard to go to a live event. Live events take place all over, are in different places each year, and are expensive.
The ones who can afford those things will spend money. There are fans who go to the live events, there are people who pay for cable. I’m lucky in that I was able to split an NBC Gold pass for this season, and that pass allows for replays when I can’t sit down to watch the stream live. But that only accounts for this season.
It’s really hard to find videos from past Olympics. It’s almost impossible for me to find videos of performances from anyone other than the gold, silver, and bronze medalists in the past two Olympics. Videos from past competitions attached to news sites go down. NBC, who has the rights to the Olympic footage in the states, doesn’t have accessible videos from the Winter Olympics anymore (or if they do I sure as hell can’t find and play them.)
YouTube has been the place for me to go to watch programs from the past or even entire chunks of competition because it’s hard to access them elsewhere. I’ve learned a lot about my favorite skaters that way, have gained new favorites by being able to watch a skater’s previous programs, and I’ve been able to see the progression of figure skating from years ago to now. Going back to the beginning, I’ve seen pretty much all of Johnny Weir’s career and love him as a skater, and I never saw a competition with him in it in real time.
People can’t support a sport they can’t watch. Figure skating will not gain new fans, and therefore won’t see any profit in viewership or money or whatever other measurements are important, if people can’t follow what’s going on. Old skaters and significant events in the sport will be forgotten if they’re not accessible online, because even if people who saw them talk about them, no one will be able to watch what they’re referencing.
There has to be a solution other than getting rid of everything and not having an alternative to find that content. Movies and TV shows have various streaming sites, and certain TV shows are actually up for free, legally, for whatever reason. I think it’s worth it to consider the benefits of allowing figure skating footage online to be accessed by all.
People will watch, they’ll be drawn in, and they’ll want more. And when they want more, they’ll look at who can provide them with the most up-to-date content, and use that place. It’s a win for everyone.
