The Show continues! The International Skating Union (ISU) and Redtorch are proud to announce that their Showtime campaign, created for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, has been shortlisted for the prestigious 2026 Sports Business Awards in the category of Best Sports Marketing Campaign – League or Governing Body, in recognition of its creativity, cultural impact and record-breaking digital performance.
The ISU is one of seven organisations shortlisted in the category, alongside Euroleague Basketball, RFU & MATTA, Scottish Rugby, Skateboard GB, Swim England and The FA.
The Sports Business Awards recognise the teams and organisations working behind the scenes to drive sporting excellence, celebrating their creativity, resilience, adaptability and resourcefulness. The 2026 awards ceremony will take place on 27 November at Old Billingsgate in London, bringing together more than 600 industry professionals from across the sports business world.
ISU Director General Colin Smith said:
“Being shortlisted for the Sports Business Awards is a fantastic recognition of the creativity, ambition and teamwork behind our Showtime campaign, and of the wider transformation taking place across the ISU. Over the past four years, we have been reshaping the ISU and the way skating is presented, experienced and valued around the world. That transformation reaches across every part of our organisation – from stronger governance, athlete safeguarding and recognition, to more compelling events and storytelling, a bolder global brand and digital presence, new commercial opportunities, and deeper collaboration with our Members, athletes, officials, partners and fans.
Showtime was a powerful expression of that transformation on sport’s biggest stage. It allowed us to present skating at the Olympic Winter Games in a fresh, contemporary and engaging way, and its record-breaking performance demonstrated the extraordinary potential of our sports when we combine world-class athletic performance with creativity and powerful storytelling.
This nomination is therefore more than recognition of one successful campaign; it is a testament to how far the ISU has come and to the momentum we are building. We are immensely proud of what has been achieved, but even more excited about what lies ahead as we continue to grow the reach, relevance and impact of skating around the world.
We would like to thank Redtorch for their outstanding collaboration in bringing this campaign to life. Their innovative spirit and expertise have been instrumental in in turning our vision into a bold, dynamic and powerful campaign that captures the energy of our sports.”
Bringing skating to the world stage
At the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, 430 Skaters from 41 delegations competed across Figure Skating, Short Track and Speed Skating. With skating consistently among the most watched and talked-about sports at the Winter Games, the ISU saw an opportunity to showcase the sport beyond competition and connect with audiences in new and unexpected ways.
Working closely with independent sports marketing agency Redtorch, the ISU developed Showtime as a campaign platform designed to unite existing fans, engage new audiences and demonstrate that skating is more than a sport – it is a spectacle, a culture and a lifestyle shaped by extraordinary talent, dedication and creativity.
The campaign was underpinned by audience research and a clear strategy, with three key objectives:
- Increase Global Digital Reach
- Target: 250,000 new social media followers
- Result: 463,000 new followers, 86% above the KPI and 302% more than during Beijing 2022
- Build Digital Memorability
- Target: 5.2 million social media engagements
- Result: 17.5 million engagements, 236.5% above the KPI and 373% more than during Beijing 2022
- Drive Fan Conversion
- Target: 8,000+ new app downloads
- Result: 35,400 new downloads, more than doubling the pre-Games base to more than 65,000 total downloads
Showtime by the numbers
The results went well beyond the campaign’s original targets, delivering record-breaking digital performance across the ISU’s global channels. In the immediate post-Games analysis, Showtime propelled the ISU to the second-largest Western social media audience among all Winter International Federations, while maintaining its undisputed leadership across Asian channels.
- 430,900 new social media followers across Meta, TikTok, YouTube and X, placing the ISU first among Winter International Federations
- 402 million video views, up 11 million compared with Beijing 2022
- 659.2 million social media impressions across ISU-owned channels
- 4.1 million ISU website pageviews, with the USA, Canada, South Korea, UK and Japan among the top five markets
- 1.7 million app views, with an average of 23 pageviews per user
- 44.8 million impressions across seven dedicated Asian social media platforms, including WeChat, Douyin, Bilibili, TikTok, RedNote, Weibo and Naver TV
- 70% higher conversion rate in Asia than in Europe, further strengthening the ISU’s position across Asian digital platforms
- 214 countries following ISU channels, with the USA remaining the leading market
- More than 4.5 million social media followers across ISU channels today
25 days of skating, told differently
Over 25 days, Showtime brought the stories, personalities and culture of skating to life in ways the ISU had never done before, creating content and experiences that went beyond the traditional competition narrative.
Among the campaign highlights were:
- ISU’s Home of Skating: A dedicated hub where athletes, officials, partners and broadcasters could connect during the Games. It also provided unique opportunities to capture behind-the-scenes content with skating stars, overcoming the restrictions around filming Olympic competition venues.
- LABUBU partnership: Olympic Skaters visiting the Home of Skating received ISU-branded LABUBU plush toys, creating a memorable cultural moment that quickly became one of the most sought-after goodies of the Games.
- Showtime Legends: A series of long-form, high-production interviews celebrating both current trailblazers and beloved skating legends, featuring personalities including Nathan Chen, Adam Rippon, Torvill and Dean and Scott Moir.
- Ice Meets Haute Couture: World-renowned fashion designer Vera Wang joined Olympic medallist and three-time ISU Ice Dance World Champion Madison Chock for a podcast exploring the powerful relationship between skating, fashion and costume design.
Through these activations, Showtime positioned skating at the intersection of sport, entertainment, fashion and popular culture, creating stronger and more diverse connections with audiences around the world.
From Milano Cortina to what comes next
The Sports Business Awards shortlist comes at a pivotal moment for the ISU as it continues to build towards its Vision 2030 and develop a stronger, more contemporary global identity for skating.
With record-breaking digital engagement and a campaign that successfully extended skating’s presence beyond the ice, Showtime marks an important step in the ISU’s ambition to build stronger, year-round connections with fans and position skating at the heart of global sports culture.
With the BEIJING28 combined ISU World Championships events and the Alpes 2030 Olympic Winter Games on the horizon, the ISU will continue to build on the momentum generated at Milano Cortina, transforming the campaign’s cultural connections and audience growth into sustained, long-term engagement with skating fans around the world.
