Despite the Buckeyes getting rocked in Iowa City over the weekend, Buckeye fans (or Michigan trolls wanting to watch the Buckeyes lose) still tuned in.
ESPN announced this afternoon that the contest between Ohio State and Iowa drew just over 4,000,000 viewers. Not only is this figure staggering in and of itself—it's the highest total audience for an ESPN family of networks 3:30 game this season—but the game also outdrew the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State Bedlam rivalry showdown by 65%, despite the result of that one registering as an instant classic.
More Iowa-Ohio State ratings stuff from ESPN (a little more than 4 million watched): pic.twitter.com/L0qH7ZClhc
— Marc Morehouse (@marcmorehouse) November 7, 2017
In addition, the game was the fourth most-watched on cable this season, as apparently fans still love to watch the Buckeyes lose (the loss to Oklahoma was one of the top three, as was the narrow win over Penn State).
Ohio State has long been known for their impressive television ratings, with some pundits suggesting that the very reason the Buckeyes made the College Football Playoff a year ago was because of what they brought to the table economically. While that can obviously never be confirmed, all we know is that it certainly doesn't hurt to draw a big audience.
