With #1 Ohio State flirting with disaster for a half, the Big Ten Championship hit a six-year ratings high.
Last Saturday’s Ohio State-Wisconsin Big Ten Championship averaged a 7.6 rating and 13.55 million viewers on FOX, the highest rated and most-watched edition of the game in six years (2013 Ohio State-Michigan State: 7.9, 13.90M).
The Buckeyes’ win trails only that 2013 game as the highest rated and most-watched in Big Ten Championship history (dates back to 2011), and the top college football game on Fox Sports since it last aired the national championship in 2009.
Of the 65 “Power 5” conference championship games dating back to 2001, Saturday’s matchup ranks as the eighth-most watched.
It also delivered the third-highest rating and viewership of the college football season, behind only LSU-Alabama in November (9.7, 16.64M) and the LSU-Georgia SEC Championship earlier in the day (7.9, 13.70M).
Three of the top six games this season aired on FOX, each involving Ohio State. In addition to the third-place finish for the Big Ten title game, Ohio State-Michigan ranked fourth (7.1, 12.42M) and Penn State-Ohio State sixth (5.8, 9.43M).
Ratings jumped 52% and viewership 56% from last year’s Big Ten Championship (Ohio State-Northwestern: 5.0, 8.66M) and 4% and 5% respectively from the same Ohio State-Wisconsin matchup in 2017 (7.3, 12.92M).
The game drew a 3.6 rating in adults 18-49 (+50%), ranking second among college football games this season behind only LSU-Alabama (4.2). The SEC Championship had a 3.5 in the demo.
Big Ten Championship ratings, viewership
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 12.11 a, b, Fox Sports PR]
