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Ohio State blows out Indiana, 38-15. Now, it's time to do the same to That Team Up North.
With Big Ten television negotiations to begin this spring, Jim Delany's conference picked up a big ol' feather in its cap en route to the negotiation table.
According to a report from Nielsen, live sports went from 14 percent of top-rated programs in 2005 to a staggering 93 percent in 2015. (The numbers are aided, obviously, by such things as DVR proliferation and the growth of services such as Netflix. Nobody, however, is DVRing the big game to watch later in the week.)
Even sweeter for the Delany: The Big Ten led the nation in ratings for regular season, nationally televised conference games. Though the SEC was a close second, the two conferences far outpaced their Power 5 compatriots:
| CONFERENCE | AVG. RATING |
|---|---|
| BIG TEN | 8.5 MILLION |
| SEC | 8.1 MILLION |
| ACC | 6.1 MILLION |
| BIG 12 | 4.5 MILLION |
| PACIFIC 12 | 4.0 MILLION |
Here's where college football fans reside, according to the TV ratings service:
The Southeast and the Midwest are the scions of college football fandom, but what's interesting to note is the Big Ten's national success, which means other markets are more enticed by Big Ten play than Alabama dominance.
As footballscoop.com notes, the dream playoff scenario for ESPN is something like Southern Cal, Texas, Notre Dame, and Ohio State. But we already knew the Bucks bring the ratings.
