For years, USA Gymnastics has wrestled with how to bring its biggest moments to the public eye. From fleeting five-year deals with FloSports that collapsed under pressure to FlipNow TV’s subscription-based model, the federation’s broadcasting strategies have rarely matched the scale of the athletes’ performances. Unlike other Olympic sports that secure prime-time slots and expansive coverage, gymnastics has too often relied on fractured, inconsistent partnerships. And the story repeats itself as USA Gymnastics began the selection camp for the upcoming World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta.
Taking to X, USA Gymnastics announced, “Worlds are waiting. ⌛Tune in now for day one of the Women’s World Selection Event!” They provided the fans with the hyperlinks for the pay-per-view buyers and the subscribers. They also announced that the scoring would be posted to the post’s thread between rotations. While the rotations were dropped in time, the same wasn’t true for those who opted to watch the event live through FlipNow TV.
USA Gymnastics’ subscription service FlipNow TV was supposed to be the ultimate destination for fans. Instead, it turned into a major letdown. Those who willingly paid for access found themselves staring at a blank feed, with no live action despite promises of exclusive coverage. The anticipation of watching stars dominate the floor quickly shifted into confusion and disbelief, leaving viewers questioning both the platform’s reliability and USA Gymnastics’ commitment to its fanbase.
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This was the second major letdown for the fans after Hezly Rivera and Claire Pease rolled their ankles, surprisingly at the same time, and left Team USA with only eight contenders to compete for the four spots on the team. Now, as Skye Blakely, Joscelyn Roberson, and others flipped and twisted, the fans expressed their frustration regarding the missing feed.
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Fans left enraged after FlipNow TV fails to give them the USA Gymnastics’ live feed
Needless to say, the fans were utterly disappointed with the USA Gymnastics’ broadcasting partner. One fan claimed, “so, it’s starting already but there’s no live feed? come on usag, this is silly.” Another fan expressed the frustration of having to look up to social media posts for scores despite crossing the paywall. The comment read, “So, this is a very important event, and you have it behind a paywall with tweets for scoring (not live), and now you aren’t actually showing it on the feed?”
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What seemed to frustrate the fans the most was the fact that it seemed like their money was completely wasted. The subscription actually costs them $64.99 a year. And those who opted to buy the PPV paid somewhere between $6-$20. One fan wrote, “I paid and nothing is on.” Meanwhile, a few others started a chant for FlipNow TV to fix the live feed. One comment read, “Feed is still off and I paid for this event specifically. @FlipNowTV please make fixie. We’re 5 minutes past time.” Another fan added, “@FlipNowTV fix the feed. The event started 20 minutes ago and it’s still not up! I paid for this event specifically!”
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