The U.S. women’s gymnastics team had captured the hearts of Americans, and it was showing in the television ratings.
Ann An average of 12.7 million viewers watched the show. The network announced in a press release that U.S. Team Gymnastics, led by Simone Biles, won the gold medal on Tuesday in a competition that aired live on NBC and Peacock and became one of the most-watched weekday Olympic events in NBC’s history.
The gymnastics team competition aired from 12:15 to 2:30 pm ET, airing a little earlier.
This summer’s Olympics are already drawing huge television audiences, with crowds watching Team USA’s golden moment surpassing the viewership of the nation’s biggest sporting event this year.
The viewership surpassed the viewership of any game in the NBA Finals or the first day of the NFL Draft. According to the Sports Business Journal.
The rating was just below the 14.8 million viewers who watched this year’s NCAA men’s college basketball national championship match between Connecticut and Purdue. Terrible announcements get attention.
2024 Paris Olympics
This came as Biles, Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey and Hesly Rivera re-established American dominance in gymnastics.
With her eighth medal, Biles became the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history and cemented her status as the GOAT in gymnastics.
“I was just having fun while I was getting ready,” Biles told reporters after the U.S. team won the gold medal. According to NBC News:“And then when we got here, everybody knew what their job was.”
While the Americans were celebrating their gold medal, Biles was embroiled in drama off the mat, including her criticism of former U.S. Olympic gymnast Mikayla Skinner.
Skinner made some harsh comments in a YouTube video questioning the depth and talent of the team “outside of Simone.”
“These girls have no work ethic,” Skinner said in the now-deleted video.
Skinner eventually apologized, but Biles never forgot the remark and fired back at Skinner in a social media post after winning the gold medal.
