Alabama Gymnastics Breaks Viewership Record During ABC Debut

No. 11 Alabama gymnastics narrowly lost to No. 2 Florida in its first SEC matchup this season 197.000-196.925 on Sunday afternoon. Although, it was not a total blow, as the viewership made history this weekend.

According to ESPN PR, the meet was its second most-watched college gymnastics telecast since 2011 with 624,000 viewers. This was ABC's first time airing regular-season gymnastics on its station.

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To make it even more impressive, the meet competed with the NFL Wild Card Weekend, the first round of the playoffs, that aired on FOX and CBS throughout the afternoon.

This comes amid multiple record breaking audiences for women's sports across the NCAA. In the past year: the WCWS averaged 1.2 million viewers, up 10% since 2019, according to NFCA.org; the 2021 women's college basketball national championship between Stanford and Arizona averaged 4.1 million viewers, becoming the highest viewed game since 2014, according to ESPN; and the 2021 NCAA volleyball championship between Wisconsin and Nebraska averaged nearly 1.2 million viewers, the most ever for an ESPN airing.

The Crimson Tide takes on the Kentucky Wildcats on Friday at Coleman Coliseum, the first home meet of the season. It starts at 6:30 p.m. CST and aired on SEC Network. The Tide is seeking its first victory of the season after starting 0-2.