Over 19 Million People Watched THE GAME!
Second largest audience...
https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2023/11/ohio-state-michigan-ratings-second-most-watched-record-fox/
November 29th, 2023 at 9:55 AM ^
So they must be pro-cheater? Does ESPN know this? Summary judgment awaits. The beacon of sharing compensation must be stopped at all costs.
November 29th, 2023 at 1:03 PM ^
Petitti has failed to figure out who is buttering his bread. Equal revenue sharing needs to go away.
At the very least, Michigan needs to start the discussion or just leave the B1G.
November 29th, 2023 at 1:48 PM ^
Tony Petitti needs to go away.
November 29th, 2023 at 1:45 PM ^
Signgate worked
November 29th, 2023 at 9:55 AM ^
*Second largest audience to watch Michigan vs Ohio State since the 2006 1 vs 2 game
November 29th, 2023 at 10:22 AM ^
...and the 2006 game was a primetime game.
November 29th, 2023 at 10:40 AM ^
Seemed like it with early sundown, but it was a 3:30 start.
November 29th, 2023 at 10:45 AM ^
I don't think The Game has ever been played in prime time. Imagine the TV numbers it'd get if it were an 8PM kickoff? We might see that happen in the coming years in the B1G championship game....
November 29th, 2023 at 11:07 AM ^
Makes sense from a rating standpoint. A late start could be difficult for the players. Imagine waking up, ready to preparing for the game but having to wait until late afternoon
November 29th, 2023 at 11:15 AM ^
The Game has never been played in prime time. Let's hope it stays that way.
November 29th, 2023 at 11:28 AM ^
This. Why on earth would anyone want to wait an additional 8 hours to watch The Game?
November 29th, 2023 at 10:48 AM ^
It was a 3:30 game.
November 29th, 2023 at 11:20 AM ^
The 2006 game was a 3:30 pm start. Whether it ended in the start of the prime time TV period is another question. I've always wondered given television's desire to maximize prime time audience numbers, why The Game has never been been played in the later afternoon time slot or evening.
But Midwest tradition for The Game has always held sway over network starting time preferences for advertising purposes.
November 29th, 2023 at 11:48 AM ^
Fox's Big Noon window has been tremendously profitable. More total people may be watching in primetime, but there is more competition for their viewership. The Big Ten obviously wants The Game to be at noon, but Fox is happy to oblige.
November 29th, 2023 at 12:03 PM ^
Prior to 2010, the start time of games was largely dictated by the fact that Michigan Stadium didn't have permanent lights and the portable ones weren't very effective for the 3:30 start times late in the season.
November 29th, 2023 at 2:13 PM ^
I’m going back many years here but when Harbaugh threw the 4th quarter touchdown bomb to Kolesar in 1985, it was pretty dark out. The portable lights were on full blast when fans rushed the field. I believe that was a 3:30 start because it was already a little dark at kickoff.
The Game went to noon starts for about 20 years after that.
November 29th, 2023 at 3:29 PM ^
We are talking about a game on Saturday. "Prime time" on a Saturday is effectively all day, since most people aren't working.
November 29th, 2023 at 11:25 AM ^
Is anyone old enough to remember 1:00 games? Those were the non-televised ones. I believe Bo stated that was his preferred start time.
November 29th, 2023 at 12:20 PM ^
The last one I can remember was the Northwestern game in 1991. I only remember it because it was the only Saturday game not on television that season. The Minnesota game was moved to Friday night because the Twins were in the playoffs.
November 29th, 2023 at 10:24 AM ^
And the largest TV audience for a regular season CFB game since 2011 (Bama vs LSU). That 2011 SEC game, the 2006 UM-OSU game, and 1993 ND vs FSU are the three most watched regular season CFB games of all time....so Saturday's game was the 4th most watched all time.
November 29th, 2023 at 10:49 AM ^
Also, by comparison, here are the numbers for other recent major sporting events, via Zach Shaw
March Madness title game: 14.7m
Kentucky Derby 14.4m
NBA Finals Game 5: 13.1m
Masters final round: 12.1m
World Series Game 5: 11.5m
Stanley Cup Game 5: 2.7m
November 29th, 2023 at 11:12 AM ^
2022 CFP championship game: 17.22m
November 29th, 2023 at 9:55 AM ^
michigan and ohio state need to demand a bigger revenue share next cycle. These numbers are insane for college.
November 29th, 2023 at 9:58 AM ^
Ohio and Penn State can demand that of the B1G after we leave.
November 29th, 2023 at 10:10 AM ^
Super conference
November 29th, 2023 at 10:42 AM ^
Damn straight, and get the B1G and NCAA to support Jim on payment for players.
November 29th, 2023 at 11:10 AM ^
Need to show these numbers to the little 11 or 12 next time they think about railroading Michigan with the 'sportsmanship' clause. You need us more than we need you
November 29th, 2023 at 11:22 AM ^
That's fine, but they definitely need to demand that The Game doesn't have extra commercial breaks just because its the most watched. I know its business, but its not UM and OSU's fault no-one gives a shit about MSU Vs Nebraska. The full commercial breaks during the 4th quarter were fucking brutal.
November 29th, 2023 at 9:56 AM ^
Second largest EVER
November 29th, 2023 at 12:09 PM ^
And more than double the second largest audience this season, which was FSU/LSU. Was that a Monday night game on a week with no NFL?
November 29th, 2023 at 9:56 AM ^
Harbaugh is right. The networks, B1G and NCAA are making bank. The Game was up there with NFL games, which is crazy. How do we get the true stars of the show (the players) some of that revenue stream?
November 29th, 2023 at 10:12 AM ^
Abandon the NCAA, that's the answer. The NCAA will never relinquish the power they have, there is no negotiating. Burn it down.
November 29th, 2023 at 11:55 AM ^
2 things:
- Agreed re: NCAA- they are the pointless middleman as in every money-making industry/company/etc, whose only purpose is to create an exploitable buffer between those who provide the value and those who control the power structure
- Re: Durham Blue’s comment above: At 19 million viewers, yes it’s similar to NFL viewership, which I agree even at face value is bonkers. But it’s actually even more bonkers when you consider that NFL vs. M/OSU viewership is, out of the gate, an apples to oranges comparison because: the viewers/consumers are WILDLY different, college football fan allegiance is infinitely more splintered than pro football fan allegiance (only 32 teams to choose from)………..AND, on top of that, by comparison, an exceedingly small fraction of NFL fans value the in-person game experience enough to actually go to games (the science of max stadium capacity alone in the NFL demonstrates this point), but the vast majority would also rather watch games at home with friends and family over watching next to a bunch of lukewarm fans and overly obsessed drunk fans while having to pay an arm and a leg just to get in the door. It’s a ludicrous viewership comparison when you make it apples to apples- 19 million viewers is truly insane when you consider all the different factors with NFL viewership.
November 29th, 2023 at 10:29 AM ^
If we give the money to players, who's going to pay for Scotch and cigars at the Friday afternoon happy hours for the network execs?
November 29th, 2023 at 9:56 AM ^
TV brings in the money for the conference.
UofM is the 3rd most watched team nationally and gets more views than any 2 Pac12 teams combined.
And yet the BigTen treats us as 🐕 💩 to Ohio State.
November 29th, 2023 at 9:59 AM ^
ACC or SEC.
November 29th, 2023 at 10:15 AM ^
It would have to be SEC, independent or super conference. I did a ratings table for the ACC, similar to the forum on the B1G I posted a few weeks ago, and it is bad. Clemson and Notre Dame had 3.2 million viewers and Clemson/FSU had 3.38 in 2022. Most of Notre Dame's games couldn't assessed due to being on Peacock (information is not available for the streamer), but the exclusive televised game with Clemson which was broadcast when Clemson was still considered a possible playoff candidate had horrible ratings compared to my expectations. I don't see how only adding us changes that TV contract significantly.
November 29th, 2023 at 10:04 AM ^
I think we’re second actually. Osu, UM, Alabama
November 29th, 2023 at 10:35 AM ^
This says among regular season games only Michigan was the 3rd most watched team nationally in 2022.
November 29th, 2023 at 10:47 AM ^
In ‘21 Michigan was second, and 15-19 (from the same publication) Michigan was third. I think you have to grade on a curve for that due to Bama’s dynasty status. Meaning: a part of Alabama’s numbers are a product of “how many times are the Tide on the ropes” because even casuals tune in for that.
November 29th, 2023 at 10:20 AM ^
Found this interesting, though I don't know how some of these numbers could fluctuate:
What caught my eye was Duke at number four? Is that a powerhouse waiting to happen? Wonder about Elko's successor, and what he can bring to the table. The ACC can use another strong team, might not be as poorly positioned as thought. . .
November 29th, 2023 at 10:26 AM ^
Maybe but I'm very skeptical about this. Alabama lost 700,000 fans in one year, almost 20% of their total? And UCLA has more fans than USC or Oregon? It seems odd, but I suspect this is taking a large sample size beyond people who tune in every week (people who watch 2-3 games a year) and a lot of fair weathered types.
November 29th, 2023 at 10:04 AM ^
I live in Tallahassee, and my wife and daughter were walking the dogs at the end of the game. They heard cheers erupt from two nearby houses when it was over!
November 29th, 2023 at 10:08 AM ^
That's cool and all but I think you and your wife need to have a chat about loyalty.
November 29th, 2023 at 10:21 AM ^
I did my undergrad at the U of M, like everyone in my family. Got my doctorate at UF. We good!
November 29th, 2023 at 10:46 AM ^
Wife is fine. But the dogs? Where is their loyalty?
November 29th, 2023 at 11:00 AM ^
Wouldnt it be with the … Dawgs?
(Sorry, seemed obvious to me, couldnt resist.)
November 29th, 2023 at 11:01 AM ^
That's EXACTLY what I expected you to say. Suspicious.
November 29th, 2023 at 11:01 AM ^
seriously those dogs should have known better.