“The Game” Will Be Officially Televised By FOX In 2017

The days of ABC and ESPN covering “The Game” at noon on a November Saturday are over. Fox made it official that part of their new deal with the Big Ten includes the Michigan-Ohio State game. This partnership of $240 million per year for the next six years will also include the Penn State-Ohio State game, among many others.

The Big Ten and ESPN still have a deal, so many other games during the season will be on the worldwide leader.

For fans, the network covering their favorite team is important if they are not able to attend the game. They have their favorite commentators and crew that cover the most important game of the season. Last years season finale in Columbus had a 10.4 overnight rating on ABC. With 279,000 viewers per minute online, it was the most streamed college football game of the season. The 2016 ratings fell just shy of the 11.5 overnight rating in 2006 when the two were the highest ranked teams.

The local ratings from 2016 were as follows:

1. Columbus- 43.6
2. Dayton- 36.8
3. Detroit- 30.8
4. Cleveland- 30.1
5. Cincinnati- 20.5
6. Fort Myers- 16.5
7. Birmingham- 16.7
8. Oklahoma City- 14.1
9. West Palm Beach/Knoxville- 13.2