Michigan-Ohio State Game Averages Over 19 Million Viewers, Scores College Football’s Biggest Regular-Season Audience in 12 Years

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Driven largely by out-of-home viewing, Fox’s ‘Big Noon Saturday’ coverage produced college football's largest viewership since Nos. 1 and 2 LSU and Alabama faced off back in 2011

Michigan vs. Ohio State 2023
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Fox’s broadcast Saturday of the Big Ten rivalry showdown between No. 2-ranked Michigan and No. 3 Ohio State averaged 19.07 million viewers, according to Nielsen data published by Sports Media Watch, ranking it as the most watched regular-season college football game in 12 years. 

The November 25 game, which was placed in Fox’s top-shelf Big Noon Saturday slot, generated the largest regular season college football viewership since Southeast Conference foes LSU and Alabama faced off in Nos. 1-vs.-2 matchup back in 2011 that drew 20.01 million viewers. 

Notable: That 2011 game came before Nielsen began including out-of-home viewing in its audience tally. Out-of-home viewing reportedly represented a large portion of the eyeballs that watched Michigan beat OSU 30-24 Saturday.

Also notable: It wasn't even the largest Michigan-vs.-OSU audience in Nielsen-recorded history. That high-water mark came with the so-called “Game of the Century” in 2006, which averaged 21.06 million watchers. 

Daniel Frankel
Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!