Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

FOX confirms historic ratings from 2023 broadcast of The Game

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

FOX has confirmed historic numbers for Saturday’s broadcast of The Game between Ohio State and Michigan. Already one of the best rivalries in sports, this year’s contest had an extra layer of drama and intrigue involved.

As a result, FOX revealed Saturday’s game drew 19 million viewers, setting a new standard for the most-watched regular-season college football game in the network’s history. It is also the most-watched game across any network since 2011.

The Game broadcast peaked at 22.9 million viewers from 3:30-3:45 p.m. ET. It was also the most-streamed college football game in the history of FOX Sports.

The build-up to The Game was also a key part of the weekend with ESPN’s College GameDay and FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff in Ann Arbor. Big Noon Kickoff even beat College GameDay in the ratings for the week, marking the first-ever instance for FOX’s pre-game show in the head-to-head battle.

With the landscape of the B1G and college football shifting significantly next season, it could be the last time we see The Game with these kinds of stakes involved for a while. Moving forward, the B1G will do away with divisions and take the top 2 overall teams in the conference for the B1G Championship Game.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.