The 2025 CrossFit Open kicked off at noon PT on Thursday, February 27, with the announcement of 25.1 at CrossFit Mayhem in Cookeville, TN.
With Open registration numbers down roughly 35% from 2024, the livestream followed the downward trend, albeit to a lesser degree.
The max concurrent views on YouTube were down 22% compared to 24.1, but still 9% ahead of 23.1.
One big thing: In 2024, both maximum concurrent views (how many people were watching at once) and overall livestream views (after 24 hours) increased from the previous year, following an upward trajectory since a big drop in 2020.
- This is the first time we have seen a dip since then. The 25.1 views were higher than for 24.3, however, when the workout leaked early.
The details: The 25.1 announcement recorded a maximum concurrent viewership of 125,034 as the workout was revealed by Rick Roman of FDNY CrossFit. The peak of viewership at the release of the workout is common.
It slowly dropped but stayed above 100,000 as Haley Adams, Roman Khrennikov, Austin Hatfield, and Rich Froning tackled the workout. The total view count (after 24 hours) was 707,392.
How Does This Compare?
| 25.1 | 24.1 | 24.2 | 24.3 | |
| Max Concurrent | 125,034 | 161,127 | 206,012 | 112,802 |
| Total Views (at 24 hours) | 707,392 | 872,651 | 835,042 | 1,030,276 |
- The max concurrent average for the 2024 Open was 159,980, above what we saw in 25.1. We typically see viewership increase each week of the Open (despite the low count of 24.3), so the next two weeks are expected to provide higher numbers.
- 25.1 numbers were more aligned with the 2023 Open when the max concurrent average was 120,873.
- The total views per week average for the 2024 Open was 912,656, while total views (after 24 hours) for 25.1 came in at 707,392 — a difference of 205,264 views.
What they’re saying: “It was a ton of fun to scratch that itch … We are all stronger together … Let’s keep it together,” 10-time Games champ Rich Froning said after the workout.
Director of Sport Dave Castro was not on site in Cookeville but called in from Amsterdam: “Hope you guys enjoy 25.1, and I’ll see you on the leaderboard.”
Austin Hatfield, who placed 10th at the 2024 Games, won the workout with 335 reps.
- “I woke up this morning and I pissed excellence…If you ain’t first, you’re last,” Hatfield told Rory McKernan after his win, quoting Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights.
Go deeper: While the above numbers only include YouTube viewership, our data from 2020 includes both YouTube and Facebook. Even so, the average total views after 24 hours for each of the five weeks was 367,857.
- Even with a dip from last year, the 25.1 statistics are well above the 2020 numbers.
The big picture: Viewership of the Open announcements, along with Open registration, can act as a barometer of the health of the sport at the start of the season.
The lower numbers were to be expected amidst the turmoil over the last six months. We will continue to track viewership throughout the 2025 Open.
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Featured Image: @CrossFitGamesTV / Instagram
