BTN Communications, February 4, 2020

On Jan. 31, No. 1 Iowa vs. No. 2 Penn State became the most-watched wrestling telecast in BTN history as well as the day?s highest-rated college sporting event across all networks. The Big Ten dual averaged 342,955 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, which eclipsed the Ohio State vs. Penn State meet in 2018 (309,265 viewers) by +11%.

The Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions broadcast capped a run of three consecutive nights in which BTN featured the highest-rated college sporting event across all television networks. On Wednesday night, Indiana vs. Penn State men?s basketball averaged 325,205 viewers and earned the No. 1 distinction. On Thursday, Iowa vs. Maryland men?s basketball averaged 455,490 viewers en route to the top spot.

Digital consumption from the event featured an additional 802,574 minutes of streaming via the FOX Sports app and 2.2M minutes watched for social content across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Through 12 broadcasts, BTN?s average audience for wrestling telecasts this season is 116,043 viewers, an increase of +67% from the 2018-19 season.

BTN?s complete wrestling schedule for this weekend is below (all times ET):

Date Home Team Away Team TV Time (ET)
Feb. 7 No. 2 Penn State at No. 4 Wisconsin BTN 9:00 PM
Feb. 7 No. 11 Nebraska at No. 7 Purdue BTN+ 7:00 PM
Feb. 7 Illinois at Rutgers BTN+ 7:00 PM
Feb. 7 Michigan State at No. 8 Northwestern BTN+ 8:00 PM
Feb. 8 No. 1 Iowa at No. 18 Michigan BTN 8:00 PM
Feb. 9 No. 2 Penn State at No. 6 Minnesota BTN 2:00 PM
Feb. 9 No. 11 Nebraska at Indiana BTN+ 1:00 PM
Feb. 9 No. 8 Northwestern at No. 3 Ohio State BTN+ 2:00 PM
Feb. 9 Illinois at Maryland BTN+ 2:00 PM
Feb. 9 Michigan State at No. 4 Wisconsin BTN+ 4:00 PM