The much-hyped Michigan debut of head coach Jim Harbaugh resulted in record ratings and viewership for Fox Sports 1.
Thursday’s Michigan/Utah college football game drew a 1.7 final rating and 2.9 million viewers on FS1, up 467% in ratings and 628% in viewership from Rutgers/Washington State last year (0.3, 394K), up 750% and 822%, respectively, from Utah State/Utah in 2013 (0.2, 311K), and the highest rated and most-watched college football telecast ever on the network (dates back to 2013).
The previous highs were a 1.3 for Oklahoma/Baylor in 2013 and 2.2 million for Oregon State/Oregon the same year.
Though a record for college football, Thursday’s game does not rank among the top programs in FS1 history. The network has routinely earned larger audiences for NASCAR races, MLB postseason games and Women’s World Cup soccer.
Locally, the Wolverines’ loss drew a 14.8 rating in Detroit and a 13.1 in Salt Lake City.
Head-to-head, Michigan/Utah topped ESPN’s TCU/Minnesota game (2.6M). It trailed North Carolina/South Carolina earlier in the night, which also aired on ESPN (3.6M).
(Thu. numbers from Fox Sports)
