B1G wrestling bout between No. 1 Iowa and No. 2 Penn State nets BTN huge viewership numbers

Last weekend’s highly-anticipated wrestling meet between No. 1 Iowa and No. 2 Penn State resulted in some big viewership numbers for Big Ten Network.

On Tuesday, the network reported that last Friday’s match between the two B1G programs was the most-watched wrestling event in the history of the network. The broadcast averaged 342,955 viewers for the event.

Iowa defeated Penn State 19-17 in front of a huge crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

📺Most-watched wrestling broadcast in BTN History
📈Average wrestling audience +67% year-over-year
🏆BTN was home to the top college sporting event 3⃣ consecutive nights last week

Full details: https://t.co/pUS77bmYn5 pic.twitter.com/jE9dMgfvUp

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 4, 2020

Last Friday’s match isn’t the only time BTN has seen success with its broadcasts this year. According to the report from BTN, the network has averaged 116,043 viewers for all wrestling broadcasts through 12 events in 2019-20. That averaged is up 67 percent from last year’s average.

Big Ten Network continues to find success in expanding its broadcast coverage outside of just football and men’s basketball.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB