Link for you, TerryD. Yawnnn.

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/fo...817963001/

BTW, you have not seen truly snarky posts from me lately, although Iwokeuplikethis has. He/she can tell you how snarky I can truly get.

(09-15-2021 07:20 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-15-2021 07:00 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  I had expected better numbers for Air Force/Navy and Utah/BYU with these so called “national fan bases” they keep trumpeting about.

The service academies are IMO massively overrated on these forums in terms of appeal. Maybe I'm biased, but I grew up during a time - the 70s and 80s - when the service academies were regarded, in strictly athletic terms, as the weakest of weak sisters in division I football. The fastest way for a major power to get accused of padding its schedule was to play a service academy, and these games had no appeal at all (I was then and still am also aware that in the distant past, before the 1960s, the situation was very different, with Army and Navy sometimes being national powers, but that was way before my time).

So it continues to surprise me when folks say things like "the AAC must do whatever Navy wants to keep them from leaving", as if Navy is the Texas of the AAC or something. Or say that any conference would want to add Army, because of their putative national appeal and the like.

I love and respect the service academies as institutions, but as athletic entities, I see nowhere near the value that some/many around here seem to. Obviously the Army-Navy game has large, and unique, appeal. But after that?

As someone who served, my experience is that most active duty either follow the university they attended (officers who did not go to one of the academies) or the flagship of what ever state they originally come from (enlisted) closest. They follow the academy that is associated with their branch of service secondarily, but there is no crossover (ie. Army soldiers aren’t watching the Air Force Academy and vice-versa).

(09-27-2021 07:56 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(09-15-2021 07:20 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-15-2021 07:00 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  I had expected better numbers for Air Force/Navy and Utah/BYU with these so called “national fan bases” they keep trumpeting about.

The service academies are IMO massively overrated on these forums in terms of appeal. Maybe I'm biased, but I grew up during a time - the 70s and 80s - when the service academies were regarded, in strictly athletic terms, as the weakest of weak sisters in division I football. The fastest way for a major power to get accused of padding its schedule was to play a service academy, and these games had no appeal at all (I was then and still am also aware that in the distant past, before the 1960s, the situation was very different, with Army and Navy sometimes being national powers, but that was way before my time).

So it continues to surprise me when folks say things like "the AAC must do whatever Navy wants to keep them from leaving", as if Navy is the Texas of the AAC or something. Or say that any conference would want to add Army, because of their putative national appeal and the like.

I love and respect the service academies as institutions, but as athletic entities, I see nowhere near the value that some/many around here seem to. Obviously the Army-Navy game has large, and unique, appeal. But after that?

As someone who served, my experience is that most active duty either follow the university they attended (officers who did not go to one of the academies) or the flagship of what ever state they originally come from (enlisted) closest. They follow the academy that is associated with their branch of service secondarily, but there is no crossover (ie. Army soldiers aren’t watching the Air Force Academy and vice-versa).

Agreed.

(09-27-2021 07:56 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(09-15-2021 07:20 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-15-2021 07:00 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  I had expected better numbers for Air Force/Navy and Utah/BYU with these so called “national fan bases” they keep trumpeting about.

The service academies are IMO massively overrated on these forums in terms of appeal. Maybe I'm biased, but I grew up during a time - the 70s and 80s - when the service academies were regarded, in strictly athletic terms, as the weakest of weak sisters in division I football. The fastest way for a major power to get accused of padding its schedule was to play a service academy, and these games had no appeal at all (I was then and still am also aware that in the distant past, before the 1960s, the situation was very different, with Army and Navy sometimes being national powers, but that was way before my time).

So it continues to surprise me when folks say things like "the AAC must do whatever Navy wants to keep them from leaving", as if Navy is the Texas of the AAC or something. Or say that any conference would want to add Army, because of their putative national appeal and the like.

I love and respect the service academies as institutions, but as athletic entities, I see nowhere near the value that some/many around here seem to. Obviously the Army-Navy game has large, and unique, appeal. But after that?

As someone who served, my experience is that most active duty either follow the university they attended (officers who did not go to one of the academies) or the flagship of what ever state they originally come from (enlisted) closest. They follow the academy that is associated with their branch of service secondarily, but there is no crossover (ie. Army soldiers aren’t watching the Air Force Academy and vice-versa).

That makes sense to me. For example, my dad served in the Air Force in the early 1960s and has good personal memories from those years.

But he is a Catholic from Illinois and has been a Notre Dame fan from childhood onwards, and in 50 years of watching college football with him, I have never once heard him evince any interest in Air Force football.

(09-27-2021 08:25 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 07:56 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(09-15-2021 07:20 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-15-2021 07:00 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  I had expected better numbers for Air Force/Navy and Utah/BYU with these so called “national fan bases” they keep trumpeting about.

The service academies are IMO massively overrated on these forums in terms of appeal. Maybe I'm biased, but I grew up during a time - the 70s and 80s - when the service academies were regarded, in strictly athletic terms, as the weakest of weak sisters in division I football. The fastest way for a major power to get accused of padding its schedule was to play a service academy, and these games had no appeal at all (I was then and still am also aware that in the distant past, before the 1960s, the situation was very different, with Army and Navy sometimes being national powers, but that was way before my time).

So it continues to surprise me when folks say things like "the AAC must do whatever Navy wants to keep them from leaving", as if Navy is the Texas of the AAC or something. Or say that any conference would want to add Army, because of their putative national appeal and the like.

I love and respect the service academies as institutions, but as athletic entities, I see nowhere near the value that some/many around here seem to. Obviously the Army-Navy game has large, and unique, appeal. But after that?

As someone who served, my experience is that most active duty either follow the university they attended (officers who did not go to one of the academies) or the flagship of what ever state they originally come from (enlisted) closest. They follow the academy that is associated with their branch of service secondarily, but there is no crossover (ie. Army soldiers aren’t watching the Air Force Academy and vice-versa).

That makes sense to me. For example, my dad served in the Air Force in the early 1960s and has good personal memories from those years.

But he is a Catholic from Illinois and has been a Notre Dame fan from childhood onwards, and in 50 years of watching college football with him, I have never once heard him evince any interest in Air Force football.

The other thing is that school gives the military member who is deployed away from family a connection to home. For example, if you are from Georgia and are stationed at an Air Force Base in Texas, your peers are from elsewhere. It is only natural for that Georgian to embrace the Bulldogs (unless he went to Georgia Tech, then he roots for Tech) so that he he can proclaim bragging rights over his fellow active duty members who are from other parts of the country--- even if the guy never had a particular rooting interest beforehand.

(09-27-2021 06:58 AM)DawgNBama Wrote:  Whatever TerryD. I was genuinely curious and surprised that Chicago didn't show up as a top market for the Notre Dame-Wisconsin game, given South Bend's proximity to the Windy City.

It doesn't shock me, but it's not an indictment of ND. In terms of sheer numbers, Chicago is the largest base of ND fans. However, the market is just a lot more fragmented with so many Big Ten alums. So, you rarely see Chicago as a top market on any of these types of college football ratings lists when it's being compared *relatively* to other markets. It's not like Milwaukee (1st place on that list) where Badgers fans are going to completely dominate.

On the flip side, though, remember that the Chicago TV market is absolutely massive. It has about 4 times as many households as the Milwaukee TV market. As a result, it takes a Bears game or Cubs/Bulls/White Sox/Blackhawks playoff game to get a rating that is equivalent to, say, an Ohio State game in Columbus or an Alabama game in Birmingham.

(09-27-2021 06:58 AM)DawgNBama Wrote:  Whatever TerryD. I was genuinely curious and surprised that Chicago didn't show up as a top market for the Notre Dame-Wisconsin game, given South Bend's proximity to the Windy City.

For gross numbers Chicago is likely a top market. The posted rating are %.

1) Notre Dame-Wisconsin: 5.4M FOX Noon EST
2) West Virginia-Oklahoma 4.5M ABC 7:30 EST
3) A&M-Arkansas 4.071M CBS 3:30 EST
4) Tenn-Florida 3.28M ESPN 7:00 EST
5) Rutgers-Michigan 2.806M ABC 3:30 EST

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/college...v-ratings/

Last week was not a good week for the Big Ten so I took the week off of my Sports Media Watch summaries.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2021/10...iewership/

"Earlier in the day, FOX averaged a 3.7 and 6.90 million for the top-five clash of Penn State and Iowa — ranking seventh for the season and ninth all-time among games on FOX (excluding bowls and conference championships)."

"ABC drew a 2.6 and 4.63 million for Michigan-Nebraska on Saturday Night Football "

Michigan-Nebraska didn't win its time slot and missed the 5M threshold but still got 4.63M airing against Alabama/Texas A&M which got "8.33 million viewers in the annual primetime edition of the SEC on CBS, ranking second for the season in ratings and viewership behind Georgia-Clemson in week one (4.6, 8.86M)." I'd have to look back at previous years, but I'd find it hard to believe many games would do that well vs. the SEC on CBS prime time game. Maryland-Ohio State on FOX got crushed by Texas-Oklahoma on ABC ("5.94 million"). This is what the Big 12 loses and the SEC gains in a few years.

FOX has wanted to go all in on the noon slot to avoid going head to head with SNF or the SEC on CBS. Well last Saturday they went head to head with the SEC on CBS with a big game (Penn State/Iowa). The result was PSU-Iowa 6.90 million vs. Georgia-Auburn " 4.58 million". If FOX has a great game, they can beat the SEC on CBS or SNF. They don't have to air at noon every week if they don't want to. The big games will sell themselves regardless of time slot. Penn State/Iowa didn't have to be a "Big Nooner" to bring in ratings. If FOX aired Notre Dame/Wisconsin in prime time, they would have crushed ABC (West Virginia/Oklahoma).

Also from the SMW Weekly Report:

"FOX is now averaging 3.98 million viewers for college football this season, up 30% from 2019 and its best start on record."

I wonder why FOX is doing so well.

Here's all of FOX's games so far, ranked in order of viewers. All are in millions:

Oregon/Ohio State: 7.730
Penn State/Iowa: 6.904
Ohio State/Minnesota: 6.295
Penn State/Wisconsin: 5.409
Notre Dame/Wisconsin: 5.369
Texas A&M/Colorado: 4.502
Michigan/Wisconsin: 4.313
Nebraska/Oklahoma: 4.210
LSU/UCLA: 3.219
Nebraska/Illinois: 3.217
Louisiana/Texas: 2.879
Maryland/Ohio State: 2.788
Oklahoma/Kansas State: 2.616
Iowa State/Baylor: 2.012
USC/Washington State: 1.583
Stanford/USC: 1.441
Utah/USC: 1.376

All five of FOX's over 5 million viewer games were hosted by Big Ten teams, three of them were Big Ten conference games. Of the eight games over 4 million (FOX's average), six were hosted by Big Ten teams, four of them were Big Ten conference games, and seven of them featured a Big Ten team. The least watched Big Ten game (Md/OSU) beat the most watched Big 12 conference game (Okl/KSU) and the most watched Pac 12 conference game (USC/WSU). Sure the Big 12 and Pac 12 can beat the Big 10 when they play the Big 10, SEC, and whatever conference Louisiana is in . Iowa State and Baylor isn't beating the Big Ten.

How bad are the Pac-12 conference games been on FOX this year? Last Saturday, College Gameday "averaged 1.85 million viewers". In other words, people would rather watch Lee Corso put on a mascot head than watch a Pac-12 conference game on FOX. What would FOX's average be if they threw the Pac-12 games out (Oregon/Ohio State stays since that's under the Big 10 contract)?

1) Tennessee-Alabama 4.6M ESPN 7:00 EST
2) Oregon-UCLA 3.8M ABC 3:30 EST
3) Illinois-Penn State 3.7M ABC 12:00 EST
4) Ohio State-Indiana 3.3M ABC 7:30 EST
5) Northwestern-Michigan 3.2M FOX 12:00 EST
6) LSU-Mississippi 3.1M CBS 3:30 EST
7) USC-Notre Dame 2.8M NBC 7:30 EST
8) Oklahoma State-Iowa State 2.6M FOX 3:30 EST
9) Oklahoma-Kansas 2.6M ESPN 12:00 EST
10) Clemson-Pittsburgh 2.1M ESPN 3:30 EST

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/college...v-ratings/

https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-relea...%20State).

ABC’s afternoon action featuring Oregon and UCLA registered 3.8 million viewers, ranking in the top five of most-viewed Pac-12 conference games since 2017 across all networks. The audience peaked with five million viewers and is the most-viewed Pac-12 regular season matchup since Nov. 23, 2019 (Oregon/Arizona State).

College GameDay Built by The Home Depot‘s first-ever visit to the UCLA campus registered 1.7 million viewers, landing on top Saturday morning among college football pregame shows with more than two million viewers in the final hour.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2021/10...le-season/

I will give the Pac-12 credit for last week's game. Well done. It seems like Pac-12 games do way better on ABC than FOX. Non of the three FOX Pac-12 games topped 2 million. Oregon-UCLA did get the Gameday boost and possibly the 9 OT boost. "The Ducks’ win got an unusual lift from the preceding Illinois-Penn State game. Illinois’ nine-overtime upset averaged a 2.1 (+78%) and 3.77 million (+86%), peaking at an unusually-high 7.4 million during the overtime session." They also faced "a season-low for the network’s 3:30 PM ET SEC window", "CBS drew a 1.8 and 3.11 million for LSU-Mississippi". Meanwhile, "Last Saturday’s Tennessee-Alabama college football game averaged a 2.6 rating and 4.68 million viewers on ESPN, marking the highest rated and most-watched game of the season on cable. The Crimson Tide’s win also ranked as the top game of the weekend, the first time since Week 2 in 2018 that a cable game topped the charts. Excludes weekends in which there was a limited slate of games, such as “week zero” or last season’s week one."

The "five appearances per school" rule allowed ESPN to get the highest ratings of the week, prevented the "top" game of the week from appearance OTA and left CBS with an inferior game and teams, leading to its lowest ratings of the season and actually getting beaten head to head by the Pac 12. Alabama is hurt because they are limited to five CBS appearances. CBS is hurt having to show Ole Miss (they should've showed Texas A&M though). When they move to ESPN, they'd be smart to let Alabama or whoever the top draws are to make unlimited appearances on ABC. Does any other conference limit the number of times one team appears on a particular OTA network? They have required appearances on conference networks like BTN or Pac12 networks but that's very limited.

As for the Big Ten cheerleader portion of this segment, 3.77M for Illinois-Penn State and 3.24M for Northwestern-Michigan going head to head vs. each other. Over 7 million fans watched a Big Ten game during the noon slot. Imagine if they weren't head to head.

SMW hasn't been updated, Showbuzz Daily has.
https://showbuzzdaily.com/articles/skedb...-2021.html

Michigan-Michigan State was the #1 most watched game for the entire season with 9.289 million viewers.

Going against the World Series, Penn State-Ohio State still had 7.051 million viewers. Last year they had 6.53 million viewers not going against the World Series (although it was the pandemic). It was the 8th most watched game of the season and 2nd most of the week, beating Georgia-Florida (6.120M).

(09-27-2021 08:48 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 08:25 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 07:56 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(09-15-2021 07:20 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-15-2021 07:00 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  I had expected better numbers for Air Force/Navy and Utah/BYU with these so called “national fan bases” they keep trumpeting about.

The service academies are IMO massively overrated on these forums in terms of appeal. Maybe I'm biased, but I grew up during a time - the 70s and 80s - when the service academies were regarded, in strictly athletic terms, as the weakest of weak sisters in division I football. The fastest way for a major power to get accused of padding its schedule was to play a service academy, and these games had no appeal at all (I was then and still am also aware that in the distant past, before the 1960s, the situation was very different, with Army and Navy sometimes being national powers, but that was way before my time).

So it continues to surprise me when folks say things like "the AAC must do whatever Navy wants to keep them from leaving", as if Navy is the Texas of the AAC or something. Or say that any conference would want to add Army, because of their putative national appeal and the like.

I love and respect the service academies as institutions, but as athletic entities, I see nowhere near the value that some/many around here seem to. Obviously the Army-Navy game has large, and unique, appeal. But after that?

As someone who served, my experience is that most active duty either follow the university they attended (officers who did not go to one of the academies) or the flagship of what ever state they originally come from (enlisted) closest. They follow the academy that is associated with their branch of service secondarily, but there is no crossover (ie. Army soldiers aren’t watching the Air Force Academy and vice-versa).

That makes sense to me. For example, my dad served in the Air Force in the early 1960s and has good personal memories from those years.

But he is a Catholic from Illinois and has been a Notre Dame fan from childhood onwards, and in 50 years of watching college football with him, I have never once heard him evince any interest in Air Force football.

The other thing is that school gives the military member who is deployed away from family a connection to home. For example, if you are from Georgia and are stationed at an Air Force Base in Texas, your peers are from elsewhere. It is only natural for that Georgian to embrace the Bulldogs (unless he went to Georgia Tech, then he roots for Tech) so that he he can proclaim bragging rights over his fellow active duty members who are from other parts of the country--- even if the guy never had a particular rooting interest beforehand.

That makes sense too. My dad has told me stories of big BS sessions in his barracks, or whatever the quarters for enlisted airmen on an air base is called, with guys arguing over college football, with each guy boasting about the team from their home state, never "Air Force".

(11-02-2021 04:01 PM)schmolik Wrote:  SMW hasn't been updated, Showbuzz Daily has.
https://showbuzzdaily.com/articles/skedb...-2021.html

Michigan-Michigan State was the #1 most watched game for the entire season with 9.289 million viewers.

Going against the World Series, Penn State-Ohio State still had 7.051 million viewers. Last year they had 6.53 million viewers not going against the World Series (although it was the pandemic). It was the 8th most watched game of the season and 2nd most of the week, beating Georgia-Florida (6.120M).

It seems like Big 12 games that don't involve Oklahoma or Texas basically draw high G5-like numbers.

FWTW.

(11-02-2021 04:16 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 04:01 PM)schmolik Wrote:  SMW hasn't been updated, Showbuzz Daily has.
https://showbuzzdaily.com/articles/skedb...-2021.html

Michigan-Michigan State was the #1 most watched game for the entire season with 9.289 million viewers.

Going against the World Series, Penn State-Ohio State still had 7.051 million viewers. Last year they had 6.53 million viewers not going against the World Series (although it was the pandemic). It was the 8th most watched game of the season and 2nd most of the week, beating Georgia-Florida (6.120M).

It seems like Big 12 games that don't involve Oklahoma or Texas basically draw high G5-like numbers.

FWTW.

And what do Purdue, Minnesota, Washington St., Cal, Utah, Boston College, NC St., Pitt, etc. draw?

(11-02-2021 04:28 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 04:16 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 04:01 PM)schmolik Wrote:  SMW hasn't been updated, Showbuzz Daily has.
https://showbuzzdaily.com/articles/skedb...-2021.html

Michigan-Michigan State was the #1 most watched game for the entire season with 9.289 million viewers.

Going against the World Series, Penn State-Ohio State still had 7.051 million viewers. Last year they had 6.53 million viewers not going against the World Series (although it was the pandemic). It was the 8th most watched game of the season and 2nd most of the week, beating Georgia-Florida (6.120M).

It seems like Big 12 games that don't involve Oklahoma or Texas basically draw high G5-like numbers.

FWTW.

And what do Purdue, Minnesota, Washington St., Cal, Utah, Boston College, NC St., Pitt, etc. draw?

When Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State all leave the Big 10, the Big 10 will become the Big 12. When two or even one leave, they're probably in trouble. Until then, they don't care.

(11-02-2021 04:41 PM)schmolik Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 04:28 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 04:16 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 04:01 PM)schmolik Wrote:  SMW hasn't been updated, Showbuzz Daily has.
https://showbuzzdaily.com/articles/skedb...-2021.html

Michigan-Michigan State was the #1 most watched game for the entire season with 9.289 million viewers.

Going against the World Series, Penn State-Ohio State still had 7.051 million viewers. Last year they had 6.53 million viewers not going against the World Series (although it was the pandemic). It was the 8th most watched game of the season and 2nd most of the week, beating Georgia-Florida (6.120M).

It seems like Big 12 games that don't involve Oklahoma or Texas basically draw high G5-like numbers.

FWTW.

And what do Purdue, Minnesota, Washington St., Cal, Utah, Boston College, NC St., Pitt, etc. draw?

When Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State all leave the Big 10, the Big 10 will become the Big 12. When two or even one leave, they're probably in trouble. Until then, they don't care.

That that they are leaving.

Recapping what you already new, via Sports Media Watch. Because it means more when they say it since everyone knows I'm biased.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2021/11...-football/

"A pair of Big Ten matchups delivered two of the season’s top audiences last weekend.

Last Saturday’s Michigan-Michigan State college football game averaged a 5.1 rating and 9.29 million viewers on FOX “Big Noon Saturday,” marking the highest rating and viewership of the season thus far. The previous highs were a 4.6 and 8.86 million for Georgia-Clemson on ABC on Labor Day weekend.

Excluding bowl and conference championship games, the Spartans’ win delivered the sixth-largest college football audience ever on FOX — and the largest excluding Ohio State games. It was the most-watched game between the rivals in at least a decade."

"The Big Ten delivered the top two college football audiences of last weekend, with Penn State-Ohio State averaging a 3.7 and 7.05 million on ABC’s Saturday Night Football "

"Despite facing World Series competition, the Buckeyes’ win delivered the eighth-largest audience of the season. Five of the ten most-watched games this season has involved at least one Big Ten team, more than any other conference."

In non Big Ten news,

"Ranking third, Georgia-Florida averaged a 3.2 and 6.12 million on the SEC on CBS "..." "it was their fourth-straight meeting to exceed six million viewers, a mark the rivalry exceeded only twice previously."

Georgia-Florida is one of the few SEC games to be scheduled by CBS before the season starts. This is probably why. Not even the Iron Bowl is scheduled before the season starts although it probably should.

"No other game last week cracked a 2.0 rating or three million viewers. "

There may have been smaller TV's and laptops on in CSNBBs's man caves but most of the TV's across the country, the man cave lineup was Michigan-Michigan State, Georgia-Florida, Penn State-Ohio State (and the World Series, which got 10.51 million on Saturday, https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2021/11...ame-4-5/).

And finally,

"NBC rounded out the broadcast TV slate with a 1.3 and 2.35 million for North Carolina-Notre Dame, the network’s least-watched primetime Notre Dame game since a 2011 matchup against Maryland (2.1M)." To put that number in perspective, Notre Dame got beaten not only by the World Series and Penn State-Ohio State but by 48 Hours on CBS (2.573M).

https://showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showb...inals.html

(11-05-2021 05:44 AM)schmolik Wrote:  Recapping what you already new, via Sports Media Watch. Because it means more when they say it since everyone knows I'm biased.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2021/11...-football/

"A pair of Big Ten matchups delivered two of the season’s top audiences last weekend.

Last Saturday’s Michigan-Michigan State college football game averaged a 5.1 rating and 9.29 million viewers on FOX “Big Noon Saturday,” marking the highest rating and viewership of the season thus far. The previous highs were a 4.6 and 8.86 million for Georgia-Clemson on ABC on Labor Day weekend.

Excluding bowl and conference championship games, the Spartans’ win delivered the sixth-largest college football audience ever on FOX — and the largest excluding Ohio State games. It was the most-watched game between the rivals in at least a decade."

"The Big Ten delivered the top two college football audiences of last weekend, with Penn State-Ohio State averaging a 3.7 and 7.05 million on ABC’s Saturday Night Football "

"Despite facing World Series competition, the Buckeyes’ win delivered the eighth-largest audience of the season. Five of the ten most-watched games this season has involved at least one Big Ten team, more than any other conference."

In non Big Ten news,

"Ranking third, Georgia-Florida averaged a 3.2 and 6.12 million on the SEC on CBS "..." "it was their fourth-straight meeting to exceed six million viewers, a mark the rivalry exceeded only twice previously."

Georgia-Florida is one of the few SEC games to be scheduled by CBS before the season starts. This is probably why. Not even the Iron Bowl is scheduled before the season starts although it probably should.

"No other game last week cracked a 2.0 rating or three million viewers. "

There may have been smaller TV's and laptops on in CSNBBs's man caves but most of the TV's across the country, the man cave lineup was Michigan-Michigan State, Georgia-Florida, Penn State-Ohio State (and the World Series, which got 10.51 million on Saturday, https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2021/11...ame-4-5/).

And finally,

"NBC rounded out the broadcast TV slate with a 1.3 and 2.35 million for North Carolina-Notre Dame, the network’s least-watched primetime Notre Dame game since a 2011 matchup against Maryland (2.1M)." To put that number in perspective, Notre Dame got beaten not only by the World Series and Penn State-Ohio State but by 48 Hours on CBS (2.573M).

https://showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showb...inals.html

I didn't watch UNC-ND simply because there were too many other good games I was interested in. I would have watched it some otherwise.