Home
Forums
New Posts
Illini Basketball
Illini Football
Sports Talk
Log in
Register
What's new
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Sports
Illini Football
Illini Football 2023
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Fighter of the Nightman" data-source="post: 1974929" data-attributes="member: 590800"><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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:</p><p></p><p>2023: 424k (BTN)</p><p>2022: 799k (BTN)</p><p>2021: 139k (BTN)</p><p>2020: 617k (ESPN2)</p><p>2019: 219k (FS1)</p><p>2018: N/A</p><p>2017: N/A</p><p>2016: N/A</p><p>2015: 224k (ESPNU)</p><p>2014: 252k (ESPNU)</p><p></p><p>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:</p><p></p><p>Penn State at Nebraska (Black Friday)</p><p>Iowa at Illinois</p><p>Ohio State at Michigan</p><p>USC at UCLA</p><p>Oregon at Washington</p><p>Indiana at Purdue</p><p>Wisconsin at Minnesota</p><p>Maryland at Michigan State</p><p>Northwestern at Rutgers ... bill it as Chicago vs. NYC, I don't care! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite18" alt=":ROFLMAO:" title="ROFL :ROFLMAO:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":ROFLMAO:" /> <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite18" alt=":ROFLMAO:" title="ROFL :ROFLMAO:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":ROFLMAO:" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fighter of the Nightman, post: 1974929, member: 590800"] 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! :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Sports
Illini Football
Illini Football 2023
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…