Minnesota-Indiana game sets BTN ratings record

CHICAGO - Saturday?s matchup of No. 5 Indiana vs. No. 10 Minnesota was the highest-rated regular-season basketball game in BTN history, according to Nielsen metered market data. The game earned a program average household rating of 2.08 across the network?s eight metered markets.* The game also was the top-rated cable program Saturday in both Indianapolis and Minneapolis, according to Nielsen.

[ RELATED: Watch all the highlights from Indiana's win over Minnesota ]

?BTN has grown its ratings every year for the past five years, with more ranked teams playing on BTN this year than ever before,? said BTN President Mark Silverman. ?With more than 50 million subscribers across the country, we?re expecting the ratings growth to continue into the future.?

Through the first 10 weeks of the season, BTN has aired 38 games featuring teams ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll, including 25 with teams ranked in the top 10 and 16 ranked in the top 5. In all, BTN will air more than 105 men?s basketball games this season.

*Source: Nielsen Arianna Overnights. Metered Markets: Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis

About BTN: A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, BTN is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With more than 800 events, all in HD, the 24/7 network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. Events include football, men?s and women?s basketball games; dozens of Big Ten Championship events; studio shows; coaches? shows; and classic games. The network televises and streams more Olympic sporting events and women?s sports than has ever been aired on any other network. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation?s finest universities. The groundbreaking Student U initiative provides real-world experience for students interested in careers in sports television. The network is available to more than 80 million homes across the United States and Canada, and currently has agreements with more than 300 affiliates, including AT&T U-Verse, Atlantic Broadband, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV, DISH Network, Insight, Mediacom, Rogers Cable (Canada), Shaw Cable and Shaw Direct (Canada), Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS. For updated information, go to www.BTN.com.