BTN Communications, March 15, 2022
The 2022 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Presented by TIAA was the most-watched men's tournament in network history and was also home to the most-watched men's basketball game in network history.
Friday's quarterfinal game between Michigan State and Wisconsin delivered 1.19 million viewers, making it the most-watched men's basketball game in Big Ten Network history (previous record was Iowa vs. Wisconsin in 2021 - 939,000). Across the entire tournament, the audience grew by +25%, averaging 671,000 viewers per game and surpassing the 2021 men's basketball tournament as the most-watched in network history. With an average of 671,000 viewers, this also became the most-watched first 10 games of the Big Ten Tournament since expanding to 14 teams in 2015 (648,000 viewers per game across BTN/ESPN2/ESPN).
Thursday's second round averaged 586,000 viewers per game, up from the previous high-water mark of 565,000 in 2016. Second round coverage was led by Michigan State defeating Maryland (752,000 viewers) and Penn State edging Ohio State (652,000 viewers).
In addition to the record tournament audiences, regular season men's basketball on the Big Ten Network was up +9% over the 2020-21 season.
Top 5 2022 Big Ten Men's Tournament Basketball Games On BTN
| Rank | Date | Game | Viewers |
| 1 | 3/11 | Michigan State vs. Wisconsin | 1,192,000 |
| 2 | 3/11 | Illinois vs. Indiana | 831,000 |
| 3 | 3/11 | Penn State vs. Purdue | 810,000 |
| 4 | 3/10 | Maryland vs. Michigan State | 752,000 |
| 5 | 3/11 | Iowa vs. Rutgers | 729,000 |
*All television audience data according to Nielsen Media Research
