Like with many women’s sports in recent years, college gymnastics has seen some pop in its viewership numbers.
In 2023, ABC broke a decades-long record by drawing 1.02 million viewers for the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championship, the most-watched iteration of the event since 2007. One year later, the national championship saw a slight dip, but still attracted 856,000 viewers for ABC.
So far this season, viewership has held relatively steady. Two weeks ago, a quad match featuring LSU, Cal, Oklahoma, and Utah averaged 618,000 viewers on ABC, down 3% from last year’s comparable match per Sports Media Watch.
Despite the sport being on relatively stable footing according to the ratings, one of the most prominent college gymnasts in the country is expressing some concern over the entertainment value of the sport, and the potential impact that could have on viewership.
LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne took to social media on Sunday to highlight a couple problems in particular: empty seats and poor scoring by the judges.
I am sitting here watching NCAA gymnastics and the empty seats are concerning. I care deeply about the growth in women’s sports especially in the NCAA. If you want fans to enjoy the sport and increase viewership, you have to look at what makes the crowds go crazy! People…
— Olivia Dunne (@livvydunne) January 27, 2025
“I am sitting here watching NCAA gymnastics and the empty seats are concerning,” the star gymnast said. “I care deeply about the growth in women’s sports especially in the NCAA. If you want fans to enjoy the sport and increase viewership, you have to look at what makes the crowds go crazy! People understand what a perfect 10 is and want people who do things that look great to be rewarded.
“Too many deductions taken at a judge’s discretion feels the same as watching a basketball game that’s constantly interrupted with penalties or a football game with flags on every play. At some point it feels negative and loses the entertainment factor that draws the crowd in. The number of questions I am currently getting from fans about the scoring is significant enough for me to share this concern. I love the art and intricacy of gymnastics but let’s get more eyes on the sport!”
This is not about LSU this is about the sport. I’m in my 5th year and I have an audience of casual fans so maybe I’m in a unique position to see what is happening with fans differently than people just looking at attendance numbers. Fans are confused. I also spend time raising…
— Olivia Dunne (@livvydunne) January 27, 2025
“This is not about LSU this is about the sport,” Dunne continues. “I’m in my 5th year and I have an audience of casual fans so maybe I’m in a unique position to see what is happening with fans differently than people just looking at attendance numbers. Fans are confused. I also spend time raising money for female athletes and will always advocate for athletes. Making changes that can impact the entertainment value will affect athletes financially as well. Female sports in the NCAA have to focus on building crowd engagement to continue to get revenue support for the athletes.”
Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that Dunne, who has built a hugely successful social media brand with millions of followers, is shrewdly attuned to what fans want. Empty seats certainly do not help when it comes to attracting eyeballs on television; just take a quick look at viewership numbers during the COVID pandemic when stadiums and arenas were completely empty.
Further, no one wants to watch a sport where the officiating seems punitive. Gymnastics fans can surely identify the difference between a perfect routine and one that has some mistakes. But if judges are docking athletes for mistakes that are imperceptible to the average fan, then that’s a problem.
It’d probably be wise for the sport’s governing body to take notes when someone of Livvy Dunne’s stature critiques the entertainment product. She has a track record of success in the entertainment world, and is arguably bigger than the sport of college gymnastics itself.
In a time when all sports — both college and professional — are making changes to be more viewer-friendly, gymnastics should be no different.
