{"id":13997,"date":"2022-04-16T20:28:16","date_gmt":"2022-04-16T20:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/?p=13997"},"modified":"2022-04-16T20:28:16","modified_gmt":"2022-04-16T20:28:16","slug":"in-college-gymnastics-the-ripple-effect-of-real-air-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/?p=13997","title":{"rendered":"In college gymnastics, the ripple effect of real “air time”"},"content":{"rendered":"


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FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) \u2014 The then-fledgling SEC Network needed content when it launched in 2014. The gymnastics programs within the conference needed a way to showcase their burgeoning talent.<\/p>\n

And \u201cFriday Night Heights\u201d was born. It seemed like a win-win for a sport that has historically struggled to generate widespread public interest outside of the Olympics. Longtime LSU coach D-D Breaux was among the skeptics.<\/p>\n

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\u201cShe was (ticked) off to say it quite bluntly,\u201d said Kathy Johnson Clarke, a two-time Olympic medalist turned commentator for ESPN. \u201cShe was afraid we were going to ruin college gymnastics.\u201d<\/p>\n


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Breaux feared if people could watch the meets on TV, they wouldn’t come to the arena to support the Tigers. It wasn’t until Breaux caught one of the broadcasts \u2014 taut 90-minute affairs that crammed all of the emotion of a football game into half the time \u2014 that she realized she was on the wrong side of history.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe opposite of what she was worried about happened,\u201d Johnson Clarke said. \u201cThey started packing the arena and started selling out crowds. We increased their exposure. It was an exponential shot in the arm for these programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The sport, too. The increased visibility made college gymnastics more tangible to high-level club gymnasts. The number of Level 10 gymnasts competing in 2013 was around 1,600. That number has nearly doubled since \u201cFriday Night Heights” debuted, the \u201cif you can see it, you can be it\u201d axiom playing out in real-time.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt made college programs look like fun and a great opportunity,\u201d said Long Island University coach Randy Lane.<\/p>\n

The viewership numbers back it up. Gymnastics is now fixture on various athletic-conference dedicated networks (Big Ten, ACC, SEC). ESPN properties alone aired more than 60 hours of live coverage this season.<\/p>\n

It’s not an accident that Saturday’s NCAA championship featuring Florida, Oklahoma, Utah and Auburn will air on ABC. A year ago, the broadcast drew 808,000. With reigning Olympic champion Sunisa Lee now competing for Auburn and programs with large alumni bases like the Gators and Sooners involved, there’s a chance viewership could reach seven figures.<\/p>\n

Yet the coverage isn’t limited to linear TV. ESPN brought 82 credentialed staffers to Dickie’s Arena for the semifinals and finals, with a streaming broadcast that will allow fans to not miss a routine.<\/p>\n

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\u201c(Gymnastics) has always performed, the last few years it\u2019s been amazing,\u201d said Dan Margulis, ESPN’s senior director of programming and acquisitions. \u201cThe connection to the Olympics and people staying in college and people are helping the sport grow. It\u2019s been a fantastic partnership for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

One that evolved with a few tweaks along the way. At the suggestion of producer Meg Aronowitz, the network adopted a running score chryon in the bottom of the screen \u2014 like what you will find during a football or basketball game \u2014 that gives viewers immediate feedback on where things stand at any given moment.<\/p>\n

Rather than wasting time setting up the meet, the action starts almost immediately. Routines begin less than a minute into the broadcast and it wraps up just an hour-and-a-half later with little filler in between.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s like \u2018Wheel of Fortune,’ you know what you’re going to get,\u201d said two-time Olympic medalist and commentator Bart Conner. \u201cIf it starts at 7, at 7:01 we’re going and the last vault is 8:28 and 30 seconds. Then it’s a winner and we’re out.”<\/p>\n

Television in gymnastics now has become what it once was for high-profile football programs: a chip that coaches can use on living room couches across the country.<\/p>\n