No wonder, really, considering NBC shells out billions for the right to televise the Olympics and saw its Turin broadcasts get beat by “American Idol” and “Dancing With the Stars.”

NBC also has a multiyear agreement to air 10 of producer Steve Disson’s specials, designed to showcase skaters in unique settings. One show paired skaters and gymnasts, another featured Grammy winner Seal. The shows also are being rebroadcast on the Style network.

“I’m feeling good about the sport,” Disson said. “Not to say more things can’t be done. We need to think out of the box. You’ve got to get new people exposed to the sport, younger people. It can’t be just old and static. We’ve got to make it new and hip and fun.”

While the days of millions of dollars in rights fees are gone, Raith said the contract with NBC allows U.S. Figure Skating to share the ad revenue and sell its own sponsorship packages. Corporations still have significant interest, but Raith said the governing body is going slowly to make sure the long-term deals will be the right fit now and in years to come.

But what figure skating has going most of all is the skaters themselves.

Americans won the men’s and pairs titles at last year’s junior world championships, and swept the women’s medals with Caroline Zhang, Mirai Nagasu and Ashley Wagner going 1-2-3. At the Grand Prix final last month, the United States was the only country with a skater in each of the four events.

Weir and Evan Lysacek have a budding rivalry that could bring back memories of the “Battle of the Brians.” Belbin — voted the Hottest Female Athlete of 2006 by ESPN.com’s Page 2 — and Agosto actually make ice dancing interesting.

The women’s field is the deepest it’s been in years. Kimmie Meissner is a former world champion, though she’s struggled this season. Zhang and Wagner have already shown they can compete at the senior level, and Nagasu went undefeated in the junior ranks in the fall.

If any one of them makes a splash, look out. The Vancouver Olympics are only two years away, and nothing generates interest in skating more than American women going for gold.

“I think it’s exciting now as we determine who those next stars are,” Raith said. “Once we get consistent champions — and champions not only at the national level but the international level — a lot of these dire stories will disappear.”

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