As was the case throughout the regular season, the Big Ten Conference was the top draw of Championship Week.
Sunday’s Ohio State/Wisconsin Big Ten Championship Game earned a 3.0 overnight rating on CBS, up 11% from both Michigan State/Ohio State last year and Ohio State/Penn State in 2011 (2.7).
The 3.0 ranks as the highest for the Big Ten Championship Game since 2007 (3.1).
Ohio State/Wisconsin was the highest rated conference tournament game of the weekend in the metered markets, and trailed only NASCAR as the top sporting event of the weekend on any network.
On Saturday, the Wisconsin/Indiana semifinal game drew a 2.3 overnight — up 44% from Michigan State/Wisconsin last year (1.6), and up 28% from Ohio State/Michigan in 2011 (1.8). The Ohio State/Michigan State semifinal also drew a 2.3, up 15% from Ohio State/Michigan last year (2.0), and up 44% from Penn State/Michigan State in 2011 (1.6).
Saturday’s semifinal games tied as the second-highest rated conference tournament telecasts of the weekend. The top non-Big Ten telecast was the Big East Championship Game on ESPN, which earned a 2.1 overnight.
(Saturday’s overnights from Sports Business Daily)
