Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Just a small anecdote about ratings again ... I hate playing Northwestern as our "rivalry week" opponent for so many reasons, lol. Bad attendance no matter where it is played, it does not stir up "rivalry" emotions with many of our fans, etc. I'm resigned to it, but I indeed find it really annoying and this is why I have been in favor of the Arlington Heights option to at least give it some novelty.
Anyway, we averaged just under 1 million viewers per game this year. Last year, we averaged just over 1.2 million viewers per game. I do not have all of the data averaged for previous years (maybe someday!), but it seems like the Northwestern game is always our floor as far as viewership goes, and I would argue it is because NU brings (by far) the smallest fan base in the Big Ten. Win or lose, this does kind of put us at a disadvantage in the final week of the year while some of our rivals are in games like Iowa/Nebraska on Black Friday and Wisconsin/Minnesota. NU ratings by year:
2023: 424k (BTN)
2022: 799k (BTN)
2021: 139k (BTN)
2020: 617k (ESPN2)
2019: 219k (FS1)
2018: N/A
2017: N/A
2016: N/A
2015: 224k (ESPNU)
2014: 252k (ESPNU)
Again ... kinda lame to complain as if we are in any way "above" them after they just beat us at home with bowl eligibility on the line. I acknowledge this, lol. However, I honestly yearn for an alternate universe where Nebraska's misplaced sense of elitism causes them to get a different Black Friday opponent than Iowa, and the Hawkeyes were our final week rivalry. With Iowa's other two rivals (Minnesota and Wisconsin) permanently matched up with each other, it is a damn shame that Iowa and Illinois are not slated as each other's natural rivals. My dream scenario for the last week ... and for fun, each matchup is at the stadium where I find the matchup more appealing, haha:
Penn State at Nebraska (Black Friday)
Iowa at Illinois
Ohio State at Michigan
USC at UCLA
Oregon at Washington
Indiana at Purdue
Wisconsin at Minnesota
Maryland at Michigan State
Northwestern at Rutgers ... bill it as Chicago vs. NYC, I don't care!
Anyway, we averaged just under 1 million viewers per game this year. Last year, we averaged just over 1.2 million viewers per game. I do not have all of the data averaged for previous years (maybe someday!), but it seems like the Northwestern game is always our floor as far as viewership goes, and I would argue it is because NU brings (by far) the smallest fan base in the Big Ten. Win or lose, this does kind of put us at a disadvantage in the final week of the year while some of our rivals are in games like Iowa/Nebraska on Black Friday and Wisconsin/Minnesota. NU ratings by year:
2023: 424k (BTN)
2022: 799k (BTN)
2021: 139k (BTN)
2020: 617k (ESPN2)
2019: 219k (FS1)
2018: N/A
2017: N/A
2016: N/A
2015: 224k (ESPNU)
2014: 252k (ESPNU)
Again ... kinda lame to complain as if we are in any way "above" them after they just beat us at home with bowl eligibility on the line. I acknowledge this, lol. However, I honestly yearn for an alternate universe where Nebraska's misplaced sense of elitism causes them to get a different Black Friday opponent than Iowa, and the Hawkeyes were our final week rivalry. With Iowa's other two rivals (Minnesota and Wisconsin) permanently matched up with each other, it is a damn shame that Iowa and Illinois are not slated as each other's natural rivals. My dream scenario for the last week ... and for fun, each matchup is at the stadium where I find the matchup more appealing, haha:
Penn State at Nebraska (Black Friday)
Iowa at Illinois
Ohio State at Michigan
USC at UCLA
Oregon at Washington
Indiana at Purdue
Wisconsin at Minnesota
Maryland at Michigan State
Northwestern at Rutgers ... bill it as Chicago vs. NYC, I don't care!