ABC bumped the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship for hockey, then got burned when the gymnasts drew more eyes

• ABC moved the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship to an early time slot to make way for an NHL game.
• The title competition earned 922,000 viewers — 136,000 more than the hockey game that bumped it.

Women's college gymnastics was on a roll this season, and nothing could stop the sport from getting its shine — not even a bump to an earlier time slot.

This year's NCAA women's gymnastics championship drew its largest audience in a decade as the Oklahoma Sooners edged out the Florida Gators, Utah Utes, and Auburn Tigers for the 2022 title.

The ABC broadcast on Saturday, April 16 averaged 922,000 viewers, constituting an 11% increase from last year's championship despite being placed in an earlier, less-desirable TV window.

Whereas the 2021 title meet aired on ABC at 3:30 pm ET, this year's finale was pushed up to a 1 p.m. ET start to "accommodate ABC's new Saturday afternoon NHL package," per Sports Media Watch.

Even though Minnesota Wild vs. St. Louis Blues — the hockey game that bumped the championships — had the benefit of a stronger time slot, the gymnastics competition earned 136,000 more viewers and a 29% better rating.

Women's college gymnastics experienced something of a renaissance in 2022 as interest and audiences surged across the country. With relaxed Name, Image, and Likeness rules granting NCAA eligibility to Olympians who previously would've been excluded from the college arena, a whole new group of fans tried on NCAA gymnastics for size.

The results were staggering throughout the season, with many newcomers falling in love with the incredible talent, emphasis on execution, and overwhelming jubilance at the collegiate level.

A good chunk of them stuck with the sport until the season's end, which culminated in a thrilling come-from-behind championship victory for Oklahoma at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

The uptick in viewers is on par with a larger trend across the world of sports: when readily accessible to fans, women's sporting events consistently outperform expectations. And now that networks are beginning to recognize women's sports for their untapped potential, those numbers are poised to grow even further.

Imagine what viewership might've looked like had the gymnastics championship retained its preferred window.