FOX Registers Its Most-Watched College Football Regular Season Ever

Ohio State’s Win over Michigan Draws More Than 13 Million Viewers and is Most-Watched Regular-Season College Football Game in Network’s History

NEW YORK – With average viewership of 3,324,000 heading into this weekend’s Big Ten and Pac-12 conference championship games, 2018 is the most-watched college football regular season in FOX broadcast network history. This season’s average viewership on the network is up +3% over last year (vs. 3,224,000), according to Nielsen Media Research, while the average-minute audience for college football on FOX Sports streaming services is up +33% (16,000 in 2018 vs. 12,000 in 2017).

Last weekend’s rivalry matchup between Ohio State and Michigan, in which the Buckeyes defeated the Wolverines, 62-39, to earn a spot in Saturday’s Big Ten Championship Game, drew a massive audience of 13,200,000. The game ranks as FOX’s most-watched regular-season game ever and is up +26% over last year’s matchup (vs. 10,513,000). On FOX Sports streaming services, Ohio State-Michigan attracted an average-minute audience of 145,000, the platforms’ best-ever performance for a college football game.

Last Friday, Washington’s 28-15 win over Washington State, which punched the Huskies’ ticket to this Friday’s Pac-12 Championship Game, recorded an average viewership of 4,082,000 on FOX, the network’s best-ever performance for the Apple Cup. The 2018 game is up +71% over last year’s matchup (vs. 2,390,000) and drew an average minute audience of 36,000 on FOX Sports streaming services. Overall, Week 13 of FOX College Football garnered an average-minute audience of 27,592 on FOX Sports streaming services, a +56% increase over the same week in 2017 (vs. 18,000) and the 2018 season’s best-performing week to-date.

FOX Sports’ college football coverage continues this weekend with the Pac-12 and Big Ten championship games on back-to-back nights. No. 17 Utah faces No. 11 Washington Friday in the Pac-12 Championship at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., with play-by-play announcer Joe Davis, analyst Brady Quinn and reporters Bruce Feldman and Petros Papadakis on the call at 8:00 PM ET on FOX. On Saturday night, No. 21 Northwestern goes up against No. 6 Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. FOX Sports lead college football play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson, analyst Joel Klatt and reporter Jenny Taft call the action live from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis at 8:00 PM ET on FOX. Coverage both nights begins at 7:00 PM ET on FOX with FOX COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREGAME hosted by Rob Stone with analysts Matt Leinart, Robert Smith and Dave Wannstedt. The Pac-12 and Big Ten championship games are simulcast in Spanish on FOX Deportes.

— FOX SPORTS —

About FOX Sports
FOX Sports is the umbrella entity representing 21st Century Fox’s wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets. Built with brands capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, FOX Sports includes ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing relationships. FOX Sports includes the sports television arm of the FOX Broadcasting Company; FS1, FS2; FOX Sports Regional Networks, their affiliated regional web sites and national programming; FOX Soccer Plus; FOX Deportes and FOX College Sports. FOX Sports also encompasses FOX Sports Digital, which includes FOXSports.com, FOX Sports App and FOX Sports GO. Also included in the Group are FOX’s interests in joint-venture businesses Big Ten Network and BTN 2Go, as well as a licensing agreement that establish the FOX Sports Radio Network.