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.
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.
