Saturday Viewership Brings Total to Nearly 8 Million

Day 2 brought four more events for CrossFit fans anxiously watching the race to find the Fittest on Earth from the comfort of their couches, and with it another 3.4 million views on Saturday. Despite the fanless stadium and COVID’s restriction, fans appear to be the most engaged online they’ve been in recent years.

Total views on day 2 (by streaming service):

• Twitch: 8,700
• YouTube: 2,751,795
• Facebook: 709,900
• Total for Day 2: 3,470,395

One big thing: With Friday’s 4.5 million, that brings the total tally to 7.8 million with one day remaining. This also doesn’t include stats from CBS’ Pluto.Tv channel or the live TV broadcast on CBS Sports. With these strong viewership numbers, it’s likely the total broadcast audience will eclipse last year’s 11.6 million views.

Beyond the numbers: It’s not just the numbers that demonstrate a significantly higher engagement level from fans in this year’s CrossFit Games.

• “This is as engaged as our community’s been in this event in history,” commented Loud and Live Sports’ president Matt O’Keefe.
• “There are no fans, there is no music, but everyone is still there and they’re still watching even though they’re not present here,” said Katrin Davidsdottir. “I can imagine that and I can feel it all,” she added.

The big picture: Despite a tumultuous year for the CrossFit brand coupled with the longest season to date and a new format that forced viewers to watch from home, the annual excitement around the games has yet to dwindle. At the heart of CrossFit is the idea of adapting to any situation. The CrossFit community has proved that no matter the circumstances they’re here to stay.