Michigan football vs. Ohio State sets FOX viewership record
Michigan football’s 42-27 win vs. Ohio State was not a moment that local fans reveled in. It was a showcase taken in by record numbers on the television broadcast in addition to the hundreds of thousands celebrating in Ann Arbor.
Michigan-Ohio State was the most-watched college football game of the 2021 season, drawing nearly 15.9 million viewers to FOX. This was a more than 70% increase from the season’s previous highest-watched game (Michigan vs. Michigan State, Oct. 30 – 9.29 million). The Game was FOX’s most-watched college football game of all time.
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This weekend’s Alabama at Auburn game surpassed Michigan/MSU and drew 10.3 million viewers to CBS.
In addition to the on-field product in Ann Arbor, the pregame festivities brought in big numbers. FOX’s “Big Noon Saturday” show drew its biggest audience in regular-season history, notching 3.3 million viewers.
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ESPN’s College GameDay, which broadcasted live from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School, scored its most viewers since the 2018 Rivalry Week shows.
From ESPN’s PR department:
College GameDay Built by The Home Depot’s three-hour show from the Ohio State-Michigan game in Ann Arbor, Mich., averaged a season-best 2,314,000 viewers, the most-viewed episode since Rivalry Week in 2018 – and the third-best audience since GameDay expanded to three hours in 2013. The final hour averaged 3,026,000 viewers, the show’s best final hour since the 2018 Rivalry Week telecast – and the fifth-highest since 2013. Saturday’s show from The Game was the most-viewed college football pre-game show and had the most-viewed final hour from 11 a.m. – noon ET.
FOX will broadcast Saturday night’s Big Ten Championship from Indianapolis between Michigan and Iowa with kickoff set for 8 p.m. ET. The Wolverines are 10.5 point favorites as they look to claim the program’s first Big Ten Championship since 2004.
