It's unclear how long the snow-dusted luster will last. Viewership of non-Olympic skating events on network prime time has been in decline since the sport's mid-'90s post-Nancy-and-Tonya peak, with only eight prime-time skating events airing in 2000, down from 22 in 1997, according to an Initiative Media report. But now that the world has seen Salé and Pelletier's stoic faces as they accepted their silver medals -- and their happier expressions as they displayed golds six days later -- the pair could be the hottest skating commodities to hit Madison Avenue since a Reebok-loving Kerrigan limped home from Lillehammer. At press time, Salé and Pelletier had not firmed up any new deals. But their agent, Craig Fenech, has reportedly fielded more than 1,500 calls, including two for possible TV movies.
Some marketing experts say the pair shouldn't be doing triple flips just yet. ''On the surface it seems like a great opportunity,'' says Bob Williams, president of Burns Sports & Celebrities, which lines up endorsements for athletes. ''But the reality is that advertisers predominantly hire U.S. citizens. And advertisers have predominantly favored individual gold medalists as opposed to a team.'' Adds sports agent Peter Carlisle: ''There's still a lot of negativity tied to the scandal and the skaters and there's nothing anyone can do about it.'' Nonetheless, Williams estimates the pair will earn $250,000 to $1 million from endorsements. (Potential promotional champs Michelle Kwan and Sarah Hughes had not completed their event at press time.)
Salé and Pelletier aren't the only ones who could profit. ABC will broadcast the World Figure Skating Championships, slated for March 17-24 -- the first possible post-Olympic showdown between Salé-Pelletier and Berezhnaya-Sikharulidze. ''The controversy can only help to boost the ratings,'' says an ABC Sports spokesman. ''The buzz created...seems to have garnered as much attention as [the Kerrigan-Harding dustup] has, through no fault of the skaters themselves.''
While ABC is enthusiastic about a potential spike in viewership -- and ad revenues -- others are more cautious. ''I don't think any buyer in their right mind would accept a price that was inflated based on the potential for scandal,'' says Initiative Media analyst Stacey Lynn Koerner. Still, when it comes to marketing, scandal doesn't hurt. Just ask an expert. ''The difference between the World Wrestling Federation and figure skating?'' deadpans WWF chairman McMahon. ''Nothing.''
(Additional reporting by Missy Schwartz)
