“The Game” featuring Michigan and Ohio State will bring attention no matter how lopsided the rivalry has been the past decade and FOX reaped the benefits of that this year. Fox was able to get their hands on “The Game” for the first time ever after years of ABC showing it and let’s just say it didn’t disappoint FOX.
Yesterday's rivalry matchup between @OhioStateFB and @UMichFootball drew FOX's BEST EVER metered market rating for a regular-season college football game: pic.twitter.com/R8IR51ykjZ
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) November 26, 2017
Saturday’s latest edition of “The Game” recorded Fox’s highest regular season college football game rating ever. This just shows that this game means a lot more to people than simply the outcome. This is, and always, will be the most-anticipated football game each season regardless of records.
Bo and Woody helped instill so much hatred, anticipation, and meaning in the last game of the season that this should come as no surprise. Michigan and Ohio State have, do, and always will hate each other and it draws the attention of everyone when these two historic teams battle each other late in November.
“The Game” broke records for ABC last year as well. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany announced this past summer a six-year deal with FOX and ESPN for football and CBS for basketball.
Jim Delany makes it official (finally): We have struck six-year deals with CBS in basketball and Fox and ESPN in football.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) July 24, 2017
Fox did themselves a favor by hyping up “The Game” with an exciting and dramatic commercial that they aired all week long.
Michigan native Gus Johnson and former Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt were on the call for the game. Johnson’s iconic voice fit in well with the rivalry as FOX had their most popular and distinguished voices on the call.
Although it would be difficult to not do well ratings-wise for “The Game”, FOX did a nice job giving the audience a quality viewing experience through promotion and execution.
