With a playoff berth on the line, the Big Ten Championship scored strong numbers on FOX.
Saturday’s Michigan State/Iowa Big Ten Championship Game earned a 5.7 final rating and 9.9 million viewers on FOX, up 63% in ratings and 60% in viewership from Ohio State/Wisconsin last year (3.5, 6.1M) but down 28% and 29%, respectively, from Michigan State/Ohio State in 2013 (7.9, 13.9M).
The Spartans’ last-second win scored the second-highest rating and viewership for college football on FOX since the network stopped airing BCS bowls in 2010, trailing only the aforementioned 2013 Big Ten Championship. Two of the three largest audiences on FOX have taken place in consecutive weeks, with Notre Dame/Stanford the week before ranking third (4.3, 7.3M).
Not including the SEC Championship, for which final numbers were not immediately available, the Big Ten title game ranks fifth in ratings and viewership among all college football telecasts this season. It will almost certainly drop to sixth once the SEC final numbers become available.
Head-to-head, MSU/Iowa topped the Clemson/North Carolina ACC Championship on ABC in ratings (5.7 to 4.1), viewership (9.8M to 7.9M) and the adults 18-49 demographic (3.0 to 2.3). College football on FOX has now topped ABC’s Saturday Night Football in three straight weeks and four weeks this season.
Highest Rated and Most-Watched College Football Games on FOX
Since network last aired BCS bowl games in 2010
| # | Rtg. | Vwrs. | Game | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7.9 | 13.90M | MSU/Ohio St. | 12/7/13 |
| 2 | 5.7 | 9.82M | MSU/Iowa | 12/5/15 |
| 3 | 4.3 | 7.32M | ND/Stanford | 11/28/15 |
| 4 | 3.7 | 6.00M | Arizona/Oregon | 12/5/14 |
| 5 | 3.5 | 6.13M | Wisc./Ohio St. | 12/6/14 |
| 5.98M | MSU/Oregon | 9/6/14 |
(Sat. numbers via TV Media Insights)
