22.1 Livestream Numbers Strong in New Time Slot, First Post-Castro Year

Traditionally, CrossFit Open announcements have been broadcast at 5 PM PT, which made it difficult for those in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific to watch in real time. In an effort to include more of the global CrossFit community in these events, Home Office has moved the broadcast time to 12 PM PT. 

How did livestream viewership on YouTube pan out?

One big thing: Both maximum concurrent views (how many people were watching at once) and overall livestream views (after 24 hours) for 22.1 increased from 21.1. Furthermore, the total views after 24 hours for 22.1 actually eclipsed the average views (after 24 hours) for all three announcements from 2021. 

The details: The 22.1 announcement recorded a maximum concurrent viewership of 84,432 and a total view count (after 24 hours) of 538,789.

How does this compare?:

• The max concurrent average for the 2021 Open was 90,169, somewhat above the what we saw in 22.1, but the trend across the Open last year was for these numbers to increase and it’s important to note that the max concurrent total for 22.1 beat 21.1, if the trend repeats we’ll see a higher average.

• The total views per week average for the 2021 Open was 530,463, while total views (after 24 hours) for 22.1 came in at 538,789. Not a huge difference above the average, but again, the number increased week over week last year. This year, 22.1 beat 21.1 by 63,477 views or 13.4%.

Let’s go back further: While the above numbers only include YouTube viewership, our 2020 data includes both YouTube and Facebook. Even so, the average total views after 24 hours for each of the five weeks was 367,857. The 22.1 numbers are significantly higher.

The big picture: These numbers look solid and represent a trend that is continuing from 2021. We will continue to track viewership through the Open this year.