@RAWSki In a lot of ways we focused on performance and standardization. Kevco was spot on in his podcast echoing what I have been proposing for years. Pro skiing is entertainment. Period. Just like college football. Until we (organizers) accept that and start to tailor the product in a manner that increases the spectator appeal which creates more value for sponsors, I don't see much changing.
The problems that we are facing with professional skiing are not unique to our sport. Major programs in college football are struggling to fill the stadium on a weekly basis. No doubt the increased production quality of broadcasts have had an effect on attendance, but our lives are also much more complex these days. There are so many other things we could be doing that the time investment required to attend events in person is less and less palatable. There are ongoing efforts to figure out what drives people to attend these football games in person, and how they can improve the in-stadium experience to help with attendance.
We used to go out of way to create atmosphere at events: beer trucks, vendor tents, music on site, etc. and often made concessions to try and increase spectator appeal: four buoy courses, head to head formats (even tried in W jump at one point), announced line lengths in "feet on," freestyle jump...
Now its more like a golf tournament with death by slalom.