ESPN rolled out the red carpet in production of No. 2 Ohio State's Thursday night trip to Bloomington to face Indiana. College football fans rewarded the decision handsomely, with Ohio State fans leading.
The network announced Friday morning the broadcast earned a 3.6 over night rating — ESPN's best kickoff weekend Thursday game on record — that shattered the previous overnight record by 44%.
Its streaming audience of 1,399,000 that had 201,000 viewers in the average minute smashed the streaming record by 109%.
Columbus earned the No. 1 local market with a 38.3, the second best ever regular season game on the network. Indianapolis' 11.6 marked the highest rated Indiana game in market history on ESPN.
Top ten markets:
| RANK | RATING | CITY, STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 38.3 | COLUMBUS, OH |
| 2 | 23.8 | DAYTON, OH |
| 3 | 16.3 | CLEVELAND-AKRON, OH |
| 4 | 11.6 | INDIANAPOLIS, IN |
| 5 | 10.5 | CINCINNATI, OH |
| 6 | 9.0 | BIRMINGHAM, AL |
| 7 | 8.5 | LOUISVILLE, KY |
| 8 | 6.3 | DETROIT, MI |
| 9 | 5.9 | GREENVILLE, SC |
| 10 | 5.8 | KNOXVILLE, TN |
